I just purchase a clematis. This particular one has the smaller leaves. I really don't want to plant it on the ground since I know that we will be moving in another year. If I plant this 1 gallon plant in a container will I ever get blooms? and what kind of soil do I use?

Anita, why don't you post your question in the Vines Forum? You are more likely to get good answers there. My thinking is that it is difficult to keep the roots cool enough in a container to suit a Clematis.

Most Clematis make excellent container plants - just remember it is a fairly sizeable plant and you ought to plant it in a good size planter, say at least 18 inches high/wide. (A large container helps keep the roots cool too -- or you can shade it.) I've found a good commercial potting soil works okay - Scott's, Miracle-Gro, Ferti-Lome and several other companies put out good ones. Try to get one with a lot of peat moss in it and you may want to add a little humus or compost to it. Osmocote time-release fertilizer works well if your container-izing your Clematis. Since you're on the Internet look for web pages of the American Clematis Society - they've got some great growing tips, as well as other information including container-growing. A former neighbor of mine has a Clematis growing in an old steel wash pot next to a gate and I know it's been there for years and about all she ever does is water it and it blooms like crazy ever summer. I've just added a couple of new ones nestled in among some thick climbing roses, but in containers because I'll want to move them to various places. So you can see from that they are pretty easy to grow that way.

I bought 2 different types of clematis to grow up wrought iron pyramids in wooden box planters, about 18 inches square and deep. They bloomed right after I planted them! They were purchased in 1 gallon containers. Be careful when removing your clematis from the containers in which you purchased them. Cut open the container rather than shaking the plant out of it. This preserves as much of the root system as possible, the most critical yet most vulnerable part of the plant! Adrian

I would like to know companies who sell clematis by mail. Does anyone have the address(es) of good mail order companies who specialize only in clematis? Thank you.

after my vacation in colorado/wyoming last june, i can't imagine wanting a clematis in my yard, other than that wonderful purple native one that grows so prolifically in your state. lucky you! of course, i am fond of the leatherflower clematis that grows down here in NC.

i think i'm talking about C. columbiana. could also be C. pseudoalpina. i'm not completely sure. i saw them in rocky mountain national park, as well as in the tetons. the leatherflower i'm talking about is C. crispa. it has dark red sepals, and the flower is urn-shaped.

The leavs on my clematis are yellow. What is the plant lacking?

I would like to get a start from an existing clematis. Do I need to get a stem with a root or will a cutting grow properly?

Ditto the last question.
Also what are your favorite clematis names? I love the big blue ones. I have a purple one up in my dogwood tree and a blue one that bloomed earlier in a red-orange deciduous azalea. I have gone nuts at Lowe's. I bought several small plants that looked healthy for about $5 each.
It is an illness, I know, but it is better than gambling or drugs.

Ken thanks for the great info. I recently this year, saw a Clematis that mky aunt had. I was thinking of getting one, if kyou put them in a pot, do you just put in one,? or more? I think theyare so pretty, and are they annuals or perennials? you can tell I'm new LOL, but your article was very interesting.

TO TRIM OR NOT TO TRIM IS THE QUESTION?
I have a beautiful pale lavender clematis that is 5 years old, large 15-20'. It didn't flower last year or this, should some clematis's be trimed down? Thanks for any info.

Clematis are separated into three groups.
GROUP No.1 (i/.e. C. montana)flowering in the Spring, producing flowers before the end of May on short flower stalks usually in clusters of two or more directly from a leaf axil bud.
1st Feb-March. Cut back all stems to 30 cm.
2nd February-March. Cut back all stems to 1 metre.
3rd and subsequent years, after flowering cut out any weak or dead stems.

GROUP No.2 (e.g. C.Nelly Moser) These clematis produce their flowers on short stems which have grown directly from the previous season's ripened leaf axil buds. A single flower is borne on each stem; flowering commences before the end of June.

1st Feb-Mar. Cut back all stems to 30cm.
2nd Feb-Mar. Cut back all stems to 1 metre.
3rd Feb-Mar and subsequent years cut back all stems to a strong pair of buds.

GROUP No.3 (e.g. Jackmanii Superba) These clematis produce all their flowers on current season's stems, several flowers to each stem, from July onwards.

1st Feb-Mar. Cut back all stems to 30cm.
2nd Feb-Mar and subsequent years reduce all stems to just above the base of the previous season' growth within 75 cm of soil level.

I know this sounds complicated but it really is OK once you get the hang of it. The months stated here were designated for the British climate. Since living in Virginia I think all your seasons come a little earlier than back home. There is a book by Raymond J. Evison who, in my mind, is the guru of clematis. One such book is called Making the most of Clematis.

I have three Nellie M's that I planted 4 years ago. Each year they have bloomed beautifully, then about the middle to end of June the leaves dry up and wither away. I have three other clematis that I planted later, that I have sprayed with a fungacide regularly that have never gotten what I presume is a fungus. I have made sure they do not have mulch too close to the stems, I keep the base shaded. These are beautiful when in bloom, but I guess my question is should I get rid of them to keep whatever they have from spreading to the other clematis? Will they just continue to have this from now on? Would appreciate answers at my e-mail address: melota@swbell.net

I moved into an apartment that was previously occupied by my best friend.She planted 2 Clematis vines next to the porch. The bottom half of the porch is lattice and I will be aquiring more lattice to extend up the rest of the porch for more support. Last year I tied string for it to cling and grow up. Now, she planted two(a white and a purple) . The purple one came up and bloomed nice but the white one had no blooms. I also have not pruned it because of lack of knowledge on doing so. Will I be too late this spring to prune them or is it something I should have done in the fall? I believe the purple is a Jackmanii superba. We bloomed late in the summer. I am not sure what the white one is. Please help someone.

Pam
Your posting is intriguing and laden with mystery. You moved into your best friends old apartment. Why? Why did she (he?) leave. Why did you move in? Are the Clematis remembrance's of your best friend?

Am I fanciful? How could anyone overlook the "We bloomed late in summer.." - Merely a typo - I don't think so.

Yes - it's evident to me that these Clematis should - no must - be brought to bloom!!

There really is not enough information in the posting to say with any certainty what the white's variety is. But the purple you say is a Jackmanii. This is in fact a clue. The Jackmanii is a perfectly lovely Clematis, very commonly sold, and usually less expensive than the rarer varieties.

On this slender thread I would guess that the white is the Henryii. The Henryii is quite lovely and also commonly sold.

For this season after the last heavy frost I would hard prune both of them. Start at ground level and go up the vines to about the 2nd or 3rd node (where the stems grow out laterally) Cut immediately above the 2nd or 3rd node. This should leave the stem(s) about 12-18" long. This is the typical pruning prescription for any young Large Flowered Clematis

Will we bloom? I'd bet on it. Clematis are very hardy and reliable.

I think the blue Jackmanii and the white whatever-it-is will definitely bloom and become best friends. How could it be otherwise.
Fred

My 3 year old Clematis Belle of Woking growing on an arbor is all tangled up so that the flowers are hidden behind each other and behind leaves.

How do I disentangle them? They are brittle and I am afraid to break them.

Isn't Pam going to answer Fred? Inquiring minds want to know.

A catolog with quite a few clematis is:

Joy Creek Nursery
20300 NW Watson Rd.
Scappoose, OR 97056

www.joycreek.com

I love clematis!!! I have several in my garden... Belle of Woking is climbing an iron tuteur with a White Dawn rose... Sweet Autumn is climbing up one side of my house on a trellis designed to attach over a drain pipe... Jackmanii is taking over one corner of the fence... a Nelly Moser on one side of my gate and a Julia Correvon on the other... an unknown lavender variety in a pot on my deck (it's supposed to be a shrub variety) and a Montana Rubens and two Ville de Lyon waiting for the rain to let up so I can get them in the ground.

I am definately hooked am I not!

Holly

I just planted a sweet autumn climatis this year. It is huge and full of blooms right now, September in MN. I LOVE it! Just what I wanted on my barren gazebo. Sure hope the blooms last a long time. What a treat in the fall when most things are ready to go to sleep.
Mima

Mima... if you plant it under a bedroom window (as I did LOL) it's especially wonderful!

Butterbean- you have made a light go off in my little brain. Why didn't I think of that. My window needs some life. It is on the dull side of the house and a couple of climatis on either side of my bay window would be beautiful. I have rock mulch and it is on the hot south side of the house but I think I can work around that with a nice soaker hose buried in the mulch. Maybe two on each side a couple of nice purple jackimani and a couple of sweet autumn's twined together. Now to find a really nice trellis.
Thanks for making the thinker work this morning
Mima

Mima, one thing I've done with all my clematis (because we have a full sun backyard) is to make sure I "keep their feet in the shade"... I take a nice flat good sized rock and put it directly over the roots. Since I bury mine horizontally, this works really well. Never lost one yet and I rarely water!

Holly

Butterbean why do you bury your climatis? For winter -- like we do roses, i.e. "the Minnesota tip"?
I had also heard that the rocks will keep climatis from blooming. So I took my rock away from the one that was not blooming very well. Have to wait until next year to see if that is true. I have a maroon climatis (unknown variety) that has never bloomed well.
I think that to keep the roots cool I will plant some autumn joy sedum at the base. There will be nice color in the fall then. I am excited about this new plan. Have to write it down so I don't forget next spring.
Mima

Mima, I once read that when you plant a clematis, put the rootball in the soil horizonally rather than vertically. I don't remember WHY they said to do this, but it's always worked for me. So I dig a small trench, lay the clematis in on its side, cover it up, then put a flat rock -- say 8"x10"x1-1/2" -- over where the rootball is planted. I figure since I've never gotten around to groundcover, the rock will do the "shade" job well enough. My Nelly Moser and Jackmanii both have more blooms than leaves.

And remember the rule with clematis... first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap!

Holly

that site sucks
www.joycreek.com

When you plant clematis you should plant it two inches deeper then what it is in the pot!

Check out the clematis forum, many answers and helpful thoughts! :)

I KEEP trying to grow clematis. yet evrytime i get catapillas? is this common. i heard somewhere that the butterflies love clematis so they lay eggs on them which inturn eat the leaves. my clematis never blooms, yet lots of catapillas, so no doubt why i never see flowers. are these catapillas from yellow zebra wing buuterflies, should i do something special or just let this prob go? hmmm