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Please help

18 years ago

I have had this clematis (don't remember the name) for 3 years with no blooms. The first year I left the old wood- no blooms. The second year I hacked it down- no blooms. The third year (this year) I moved it to a new location. It has always gotten morning and evening sun/afternoon shade. I have always fertilized with a high middle number. I am obsessed now with getting this thing to bloom. Please help. What am I doing wrong?

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Comments (3)

  • 18 years ago

    Hi Sara,
    I'm not an expert with clematis, although I do have 3 for a number of years now, my clematis are blooming their heads off,
    1. I water every day, in the morning. Every single day.
    2. I never put fertilizer on them. Honest. Just mulched them away from the roots a little.
    Stop putting fertizier on it, and water it every single day it doesn't rain. You can't water clematis enough.
    Put a little more mulch around the outside of the roots around the bottom of it, it might help also.
    You will have blooms this year, it should take off in growth this year big time! It looks healthy!
    Good Luck!

  • 18 years ago

    The fact that you moved it has probably set it back. Give it time and keep it mulched. I would recommend adding more mulch around the perimeter of the plant to keep the soil moisture levels more constant.

    I highly recommend against watering it every day. No clematis except maybe those growing in the most arid regions of the country like New Mexico and Arizona should need water every day. If they do, you didn't prep the soil appropriately and you don't have it mulched well. Light constant watering everyday is going to encourage shallow roots. Water the plant slowly and once or twice a week or so. This will allow the water to get deeper into the ground and encourage the clematis' roots to travel further into the soil which will make it more drought tolerant.

    Although I would not go so far as to say never fertilize clematis, I personally don't think they are the fertilizer hogs that some people think. If your native soil is very fertile, then you might could get away with no fertilization. If you live in a relatively new house, then the soil around the house is likely not going to be anything other than the subsoil in which plants are not going to flourish and thrive. Go with a low nitrogen high phosphorus fertilizer that is slow release in nature. An organic fertilizer is a good choice since even if you over dose the plant, it will still take an organic fertilizer time to be broken down by the soil microorganisms in the soil before it becomes available to the plant. I highly encourage you to make your own compost or buy a good quality compost and apply it around the perimeter of your plant. This,as most organic fertilizers, will feed the soil and in turn aid the plant.

    Since the plant was just moved again, I would pinch the plants growing tips back to encourage more vines to form. The larger number of vines with more leaves will allow more photosynthesis to take place, will allow the plant to produce more food, and ultimately allow it to bloom.

    Just realize as I stated earlier, the plant may not bloom this year since it was just moved (depends on which pruning type it is, how long your growing season is, etc.). Patience, correct feeding and mulching and watering, and allowing the plant to get settled will produce a plant

  • 18 years ago

    see I didn't finish the sentence. Got called away by the phone. Any way, will produce a plant that flowers.

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