Clematis Advice

Good evening ,Is there a clematis that will flourish in full sun,all day,would you believe I haven't got a single one in Woos garden,am I right in thinking that the base needs to be kept in the shade,I would like to purchase one within the next 2/3 days and the weather forecast is 35 centigrade, by Tuesday/Wednesday.and it is the hottest location in the garden,I would really appreciate your advice,thank you

 

There are many varieties out there, Woo. You need to decide whether you want a deciduous or evergreen one, then what season for flowering, then the colour and variety. I only buy substantial plants that I know will get a good start, plant them deeply in a mixture of good compost and soil, and in a place where the roots will be cool and damp. I do sometimes, but not always. lay a flat stone over the soil to help keep the moisture in. I do however break the rules and plant them closely when they're clothing a trellis etc, but they have never seemed to object to that especially as I treat them like roses and feed them regularly. I think the important thing is to plant them deeply.

 

Hi Armandll 1.Deciduous 2.Flowering season June July 3.Red/blue 4.Variety is why I was asking?

Hi Jenny tough calls are what I am use d to

 

Well, as I said, Woo, there are over 800 varieties out there...........but you could look at:

RED........Amethyst Beauty, Beth Currie, Carnaby, Madame Julia Correvon, Polish Spirit, Princess Diana, Plena Elegans, Hagley Hydrid, Niobe, Avant Garde.

BLUE......Jackmanii, Arabella, Petite Faucon, Elsa Spath, The President, Galore, Candy Stripe, Bijou, Empress.

 

Good morning Merleworld and thank you my friend,

 

Good morning Harry and thank you my friend ,I will have a browse ,have a lovely day

 

I will buy "cheap" Clematis if the plant is a good one and of a variety I like whatever the source. I will also pay a good price for something I haven't seen before and think will be a nice addition to the garden. I think we should look past the illusion of some thing being better because it's more expensive and actually look at the plant to see if it's fairly substantial and healthy.
I buy a lot of plants from Arley Hall Plant Nursery, near Knutsford and have done so for years for several reasons. [a] The prices for good and substantial plants are reasonably priced [a little over £5], they carry unusual varieties and old fashioned varieties as well as a good range of normal varieities [c] they're friendly and knowledgeable and should any plant fail they will replace it. [c] Sentimental reasons as my wife loved the Arley Hall Gardens.
Back to Clematis, I think you can buy from the most reputable of Nurseries and Suppliers or the cheapest of Supermarkets and get mixed results of success.

Maybe so, but buying from Specialist Nurseries does usually give you a better chance of getting a healthy plant despite your disappointment with the size of it. Also, in my experience, if you're disappointed with the plant for what ever reason contacting the Nursery usually gives results as they are protective about their reputation.

As I said earlier I failed miserably to grow Clematis in the early years. I just couldn't get the conditions right that they wanted but over the years I have come to [partly] understand the plant and what it needs and likes. I also disregard to some extent the accepted rules laid for growing and pruning Clematis because I have so many of them and the varieties and classes around intermixed so trying to sort out which is which is impossible I also tend to plant Clematis closely together gradually adding more to a group over years which would be probably be frowned upon by the Clematis experts.

Like other plants Clematis can sometimes be difficult. temperamental and taking longer to settle down, and then at other times they can be planted and grow away happily immediately.
If you can get the conditions right in your own particular micro climate of a garden they will grow quite easily. I confess there have been some casualties over the years until I understood the conditions that Clematis needed in my garden but then gardening is a learning experience usually taught by the Teacher known as "Success and Failure".