This information is correct, though you don't need to follow it to the letter to get good blooms. Mrs. C is a prolific, almost all-summer, bloomer, and she's sometimes listed as a type 3. Since you just planted her, I'd do nothing at all this spring. If you'd like, you can tidy her up by clipping off the obviously dead stems, but if she's new, I'd just let her go.

Sprinkles I would give a radical haircut, down to about 6", pull all the cut stems off, then clip what remains down to obvious, fat buds. If it's still quite small, just do the second stem. And enjoy!

For a differing opinion, I'd disregard common pruning recommendations for pretty much any clematis planted in a container and prune relatively hard. Container growth is quite a bit different than growing the vines in the ground and unless you plan to train these up a large support system, you will get lower and more densely foliated plants by hard pruning without sacrificing lots of flowers. Fertilizing container-grown plants is a bit more important as well. Every watering will leach nutrients out of the potting medium and these need to be replaced to ensure a vigorous, healthy plant. I'd top dress annually with a slow release fertilizer like Osmocote, as well as supplement with a dilute liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks during the primary growing season.

And yes, late February or early March is the recommended time for pruning both these vines. If your weather stays cold (not all that common in zone 7), you may wish to delay this slightly for those vines grown in a container but go ahead and prune inground vines then.

Michael, can you explain your instructions again, I'm not sure I followed you: "Sprinkles I would give a radical haircut, down to about 6", pull all the cut stems off, then clip what remains down to obvious, fat buds. If it's still quite small, just do the second stem. And enjoy!"

If I cut down to 6", I don't think there will be any "fat buds left". And what do you mean by "second stem"?

Gardendal, I have some osmocote, but what type of liquid fertilizer do you recommend?

Also, do either of you recommend repruning the vines again after bloom to encourage rebloom, or is this unnecessary with these varieties?

Finally, I also have an unidentified clematis that grows up my mailbox. My wife pruned it down to the ground at the beginning of January. I'm not sure I really understand clematis and how it blooms. Will pruning one to the ground at this type of year hurt next season's blooms? Why should you wait until late Feb/early March to prune...and how does doing it earlier hurt the plant?

Thanks!

answer????

Can someone provide answers to my question 2 posts up?

Thanks!

Sorry, just came back to this. First, I noticed you said you'd be watering once a month, and by summer, you really should be watering once a day. Pots dry out fast, especially ones that small (18" x 18"), and clematis want moist roots.

What I meant was to cut back your clematis stems to about 6" about now (early March). Simply cut off all the stems up to the last 6" coming out of the pot. It will put up new growth from its crown, as well as putting up strong growth from the remaining stems.

Any kind of liquid fertilizer will work - Miracle Gro is fine (use the Bloom Booster formulation). I use it once a month or so at a more dilute rate for container plantings since they need such frequent watering.

Generally it is recommended to wait until one sees some bud development occurring before pruning takes place, but that is not absolutely necessary. Hard pruning does expose some possibly vulnerable tissue to weather, so there is a risk that very cold weather in January or February could damage already cut back stems. Depending on the clem, a light pruning after bloom could encourage a new flush but that is particular to cultivar and is most often applied to some (not all) type 2's.

Thanks for the responses. Michael, I meant that I was watering once a month in the winter while they were stored in my garage. The soil seems moist even at this rate.

Gardengal48, thanks as well. Since we are on the subject, I'm trying to come up with an easy plan for fertilizing all my plants without having to research each and every one. Would you say that is generally an ok practice to put a bit of osmocote at the base of all my plants/flowers (not just clematis) in the spring and then feed them a diluted liquid fertilizer once a month: Miracle Gro Bloom Booster formulation for flowering plants and Miracle Gro Bloom Booster for flowering plants and Miracle Gro Liquid All-Purpose Plant food for non blooming plants?

I was bad about fertilizing last year mainly because I wasn't sure what to use and I figured nothing was better than the wrong thing.

Thanks again.

The repeated use of any water-soluble fertilizer like Miracle Gro is only necessary with container plantings. Inground plantings can benefit from an application of a slow release product like Osmocote (or any organic granular fertilizer) at the start of the growing season - or for woody plants, in fall - but it is always best to test the soil to determine if there are nutrient deficiencies before applying fertilizer, perhaps needlessly.

FWIW, established woody plants in the landscape - trees and shrubs - do not often require any supplemental fertilization.

gardendal,

Makes sense, thanks. One more piece of the puzzle, when does "the growing season" start? Would this be determined by a particular date, a consistant temperature range, or by the signs on a particular plant, like waiting for forsythia to bloom?

"Growing season" is a pretty loose term :-) Generally, it is understood to mean that span of time beginning when most plants flush out new growth, bud and bloom and ending when they drop leaves or go dormant for the winter. It can roughly coincide with the last frost date in sping and the first expected frost date in fall but there are always exceptions. I personally consider it to be April to October in my climate, when most plants are in active growth mode.

My clematis started putting out leaf buds in mid to late February and I've had blooms even till Dec and this year Clematis "Florida Seiboldi" had bloomed in Jan!!....Jeanne

Jeanne, the cold north salutes you!
Every Feb I have begun to prune but this year, not yet! Just too darn cold!

Gardengal,

I went out to buy the miracle grow and found an actual liquid and a few different powders. Were you talking about the actual Liquid version , (or this) or buying the powder and mixing it with water?

Thanks

When buying Fertilizers you really need to pay attention to the N-P-K Ratio..the first one was high in the first number which is (N) Nitrogen..so you'll grow alotta pretty leaves and no flowers..make sure the Middle number (P) is the higher than the other two..the powder form (The last one) said "Fertilizer Analysis: 15-30-15 with micronutrients" that is a better ratio...Jeanne

Yeah I was thinking of a 30-15-15 or a 10-5-5 for things like hostas and a 15-30-15 or a 5-10-5 for the impatients etc. I was just wondering if it mattered whether or not I bought the actual liquid fertilizer or a powder based form and mixed it with water.....in other words, is there one particular product that most people are using?

Thanks again.

Either form will work if the ratio is proper for your needs..to me liquid or powder mixed with liquid are not substantial and quick fixes..top dressing your flowerbeds with a couple inches of compost and couple inches of composted manure is best...it feeds the microbes and in return enriches the soil which feeds the plants and makes them healthier and stronger....Personally I buy the pellets or slow release when it comes to fertilizers..Jeanne

Do potted Clems need to be in the garage during winter in zone 7?

Jeanne...would Leaf Grow (a composted leaf product available in my area) work as compost?
I was really asking about the miracle grow for outdoor container plants. I understand that watering them causes the nutrients to wash out of the pot so its a good idead to add a fertilize every few weeks.

buyorsell...I garaged mine in a windowless garage and they did great...grew and developed lots of big buds over winter. Someone on here told me it wasn't necessary. Someone else suggested digging a hole and buring the pot in the ground with some sort of mulch on top for insulation. Another person suggested that if I moved them close to my house and covered them with burlap/bubblewrap on the top and outward facing side of the pot, they would stay warm enough. I decided to be safe and bring them in. ;)

I had three potted clematis (bought end of season last year) outside all winter and they were fine. All have come back strong this year.