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Who Woulda Thought......

19 years ago

The last batch of clematis I ordered from Silver Star were ordered when the weather was "iffy" here for planting them, a little too hot maybe. Ordered anyway and when they came I waited until evening, stuck them in the ground and watered them really well. Within a couple of days, two of them had completely died back. Two or three brown sticks poking out of the ground, leaves gone. Well, the root systems were really big and healthy so I just kept watering those dead sticks and lo and behold, there are green clematis leaves poking up out of the ground. I couldn't believe my eyes. Both are putting out new foliage. Moral of this story, never give up on a clematis :-).

A sadder story. She sent me a huge Purple Spider. Planted and watered just like all the rest and it did fine for a while and then turned brown and crispy. Looks dead to me. This is a type one clem. Any hope for this one or is it a goner?? Should I cut it back to the ground and just see what happens?

Carol

Comments (10)

  • 19 years ago

    Yes..there is still hope..prune back and continue watering...Jeanne

  • 19 years ago

    There is hope, keep it watered. Did you plant it deeper in the pot than it was before?

  • 19 years ago

    Concur with everyone else. Keep it watered and see what happens. Solina was purchased last fall from Debbie. This spring it came out of the gate like a champion, got 3 feet tall, and then suddenly the whole plant wilted. I cut it back severely and within a couple of weeks was back like a champ. Sometimes I think that larger plants with big root systems get a little ahead of themselves or their root systems and this is what happens. This is especially true if we tend to encourage them on by applying a little too much fertilizer.

  • 19 years ago

    Thanks Jeanne, I was hoping you'd show up :-)

    BorS, I planted it in the ground. I always put the plants I receive from Debbie straight into the ground and they have done well.

    Miguel, how "severe" did you prune Solina? Purple Spider looks like it needs to be cut to the ground. I cut the type II's and III's with impunity and they don't seem to mind. I wasn't sure if this type I was going to tolerate this? I guess at this point it's all academic because it is dead to the ground. I'll water and see what happens. Just wondered if any of you had ever seen a type I cut/die to the ground and come back.

    Thanks,
    Carol

  • 19 years ago

    Carol, I often wait until the fall to plant my clems. I just pot them up in a larger container and let those roots continue to develop. But in any case, yours knew they had to obey your wishes and popped back up, and of course, your great care didn't hurt either.
    Carol

  • 19 years ago

    Carol, Solina wilted all the way back to the ground so I cut it back accordingly. It was originally planted deeper in the ground than it was in the wrapping I got from Debbie.

  • 19 years ago

    Thank you. I always plant them deeper so hopefully something will come up from the roots!

    Carol

  • 19 years ago

    I do cut Type I alpinas and macropetalas almost to the ground the same as Type II's and III's.

    I just did this to Bluebird and Helsingborg. There were no problems, I just wanted them to branch more.

    I shovel pruned Willy and Rosy O'Grady. Didn't like the pale wishy washy blooms.

  • 19 years ago

    BorS, thank you. That sounds very encouraging. I love clematis :-)

    Carol

  • 19 years ago

    I do too but I used to baby them by not pruning and it was totally the wrong approach. I had scraggly vines with bare legs and few flowers. They weren't very enjoyable.

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