Clematis and climbing

Afternoon all, I've managed to pick up some very cheap Clematis from ASDA this morning and would like to plant it out in the garden soon. I am a total newbie but hopefully will be able to do the planting bit ok!

My question revolves more around climbing! I don't have the money to purchase a trellis at the moment, I was thinking of using some bamboo cane and twine and making a cheapo version myself... However, will the clematis need the support right from the day it's in the ground, or would it be OK to plant it out and then put some contraption in for it to support itself on later? I will be planting it next to a thick wooden fence, will it be able to support itself on this also for the start?

It is Mrs N Thompson variety, around 25cm tall already but has been purchased with a small cane in it and has grown a couple of tendrils wrapping around this.

If anyone has any other ideas of things I can use for it to grow on that would be fab, thank you in advance!!


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If you're putting it next to a wooden fence, you could always bang a few nails into the fence for the clematis to twine around? Or, alternatively, to loop some string/twine to provide ropes for it to twine around)! I think I vaguely remember my Mum doing that on a stone wall where she couldn't really fit a trellis, but there were some old nails sticking out.

Or maybe you could get a pack of large-ish cable nails, and nail cheap bamboo cane to the fence in a rough home made trellis? A multi-pack of cable nails is only a couple of quid, usually!

I'm afraid I can't help with advice on how much support it'll need in its youth (I'm a noob too), but I imagine you'd want to have its support in place fairly early so you can "train" it to go in the right direction?

 

I've covered my fence in pea netting and bamboo near the top, i will have to use wire next year when they get hold better , i have around 18 plants on this run of fence along with a fair few everlasting sweet peas.

 

I wouldn't even think about putting that clematis out yet, it will only be whats called a liner.
I would pot it on so that it gets a better root system.
I buy these clematis from my local Morrisons for £1.75 a clematis, to grow on for 12 months then I plant them out.
Up to now I've bought 12 this year, has soon as I got them home I chop them back so it sends up more stems.
Has for what to grow it up bamboo canes would be ok for now.

 

Thank you all for the brilliant suggestions! I was a bit worried about putting it outside for now due to the winds and thought it might get a bit blown about!

@Super Lucyjin - loads of awesome ideas, thank you! Nails and twine is a good idea.

@ARMANDII - I had been reading up and watching some YouTube videos about planting Clematis and being sure to put it in as deep as possible too. Thank you for the tip!

@martin-f ooh, netting or wire is brilliant, hadn't thought of that so may see what there is in the shed to play with for later!

@Ian Taylor - aha! It is only really small for a plant- about 25cm tall and only in a 3 inch diameter pot. looking at people's videos online their potted clematii (!?) are a lot larger. It was £3 for two in Asda so they are potentially the same thing! I am guessing they are OK to grow outside in a pot (potted on to a larger one) but do you have any more tips for growing? Also- how far should they be cut back? I don't want to make it too unhappy!

If anyone else has any pictures to share or clematis stories that would be lovely too!

 

Toppington: I agree that these tiny clematis's are not fit for planting out in the garden yet: they are really just rooted cuttings. Most of the reputable growers sell 2 year old plants in 2 or 3 L pots. As Ian says, grow them on for at least a year first. What varieties are they, by the way?

 

Hi @toppington these plants are only about 1 year as @Redwing has said most growers sell 2 year old plants in 2-3 Ltr pots.
It would be ok potted on outside.
I would cut it back to about 12 inchs, but if its outside I would wait will no frosts.
Ive been growing clematis for a few years now my avator is a Clematis repans.

 

@Redwing thank you very much for that info too- they are both Mrs N Thompson which I liked the look of the bright flowers of! I shall pot them on to larger pots and encourage them to grow in their small way!

@Ian Taylor thank you again, very useful and helpful! We're not quite past the no frosts part yet here (had a couple last week) so will wait a while and hopefully give it a good chance!

When potting on should I also put it a bit deeper in, like you should when olanting in the ground, or is the same level in a larger pot ok?

 

In February (22nd to be precise ) 2013, I bought some small clematis from Morrisons:-


I put two of the plants in the pot you see them pictured in (and another two in a matching pot) and left them outside to their own devices.

Four months later in June 2013, I had the first flower to boast of:


By July, yet another had flowered:



Still not remarkably tall, but then they came from a very small plant and it was their first year outside.

We moved in 2014 and they had remained in their pots and had reached a good 6 foot.

Last year, June 2015, still in their pots:-


The other week they were given their final position, in the ground, where they are to stay. I trimmed them down at the top (so may lose out on some flowers this year), but took a photo of their (3yr old) root system. Not pot bound, but may well have been if I hadn't got them in the ground:-



So, in my experience, although they are small plants that you have, you can pot them up outside and they should be ok. Quite hardy plants. But the same advice as if you put them in the ground: plant deep (I gave mine a 2in bark mulch in the pot), keep moist, try to keep the pot in the shade and the tops in the sun.
I didn't feed mine in the first year; 2nd and 3rd year used a liquid fertilizer.

Supports: You may just make out, on the last picture and to the right, a small metal "support" which the clematis were given when they first went into the pots. Possibly you can make it out in the 2nd picture too That was just to get them started, but the pot was positioned with a heavy duty trellis a couple of feet further up. They loved that!

When I moved here (2014) I had to fashion a support out of plastic mesh around the space above the top of the pot, held in place with bamboo canes pushed into the pot. Looked a right mess ... until the clems covered it all

At the very basic you could use horizontal twines attached to nails.
Clematis likes to twine around things and make use of other supports. And that includes other plants, so if you have a shrub handy nearby to where you wish to plant out your clematis, think about using that.
I discovered last year, a clematis growing up through a Choisya "Aztec Pearl" in my garden; that makes a nice display because the clematis flowers after the Spring flowers of the Choisya and the Choisya then has a second flush after the clematis has finished: win, win!
Here's the clematis in the Choisya taken June 2015 :



Hope that has given you some inspiration @toppington

 

Sorry to contradict you @Ian Taylor, but, I don't believe it does need any cutting back and certainly not this year. If I could highlight Our Mandy's post:

They fall into Pruning Group 2 which means they can be cut back to a pair of new growth buds in late Winter/early Spring. So, next year at the earliest for this particular plant, I would say.

 

But thats for a more established plant not a rooted cutting, I dont let my young clematis flower has I a stronger root system.

 

Ah, ok, that's interesting. Obviously, I don't have a comparison to post, so no idea which method is more production in terms of a strong root system

All I can say is, from my personal experience, I've had no problems with achieving a strong root system by popping those small supermarket ones into a pot, leaving it to do its own thing and not fretting over it This year (after 3yrs) is the first time any of them were given a chop and that is only because they were being put into the ground (at long last!) and as you can see from Post #10, they have a very healthy, strong root system.

Each to his/her own I guess and no doubt @toppington will decide which route to take depending on her own preferences

 

Thats the beauty of gardening its not a exact science, what works for someone could not work for someone else .
We learn all the time gardening.
I just go off what I've learnt through trial and error.
And speaking to other growers.