Help! Wind disaster!

So i have an arch in my garden, with a clematis either side climbing up.
It is one of these spindly looking metal arches, which i was looking to replace with wood. It did blow sideways a while back, but a good ol' bit of string has support one side to stop it going that way again.

However....
Last nights stormy weather has snapped the legs of the other side of the arch!
So i now have a broken arch with my clematis plants still hanging onto it.

What do i do??
I clearly need to replace this now with a sturdy wooden arch, but how do i go about this with the clematis stems wrapped around?

 

Either a lot of hacksawing or you wait till the plant is dormant & do some severe pruning.

Not an easy job to do without loosing bits of the plant, but it'll grow back

 

Sounds like a silly question.. But when will the plant be dormant?
It's losing its leaves now.. So i'm guessing its on its way to Winter napping!
And how much pruning can i do without causing problems? In other words.. How much would be too much

 

What type of clematis is it ?

 

I'm pretty sure its an Elizabeth and a Sunset..

 

Hi
Elizabeth is a Montana variety (Group1) and Sunset is a (group two) , so both flower on the growth that they produced this year.

Both hate to be hard cut down so try and save as much as you can.

Spruce

 

Hmm.. So i'm best off just trying to de-tangle it as much as possible and kind of re-tangle it on to a new arch?

 

yes would be best , if you cut them both down hard the Elizabeth may not regrow back , even if its only about 6 feet that would do , plus you can lay on the soil for now , but needs to up before it re-sprouts or the slugs will have all the new growth in the spring


Spruce

 

Do you mean i can get them off the arch and leave them on the floor for now? Until i get a new arch? Would the stems not snap? (They look brittle, but have survived thus far with being pulled this way and that with the arch collapse)

 

Could you maybe get your wooden arch up now Elizabeth...i know it's not ideal conditions but...you could then tie the Clematis in and eventually remove the old frame when you see fit...just an idea

 

Easier said then done, sadly lolimac.
I guess i need to try to somehow secure what i've got, right now, to try to stop the plants from being damaged.

I haven't got a wooden arch yet, and i certainly can't erect one on my own (my dad usually helps - he popped the current one up) and they won't be able to visit until the 10th December. Unfortunately I am also at work non-stop until next weekend - at which point i am away!
I will have to first find a good wooden arch that isn't massive and doesn't cost a bomb! (B&Q's are very expensive for one, and mostly huge ones which i don't need)

 

they will be fine just be gentle with them

 

Elizabeth, you could try and pick up a second hand one as a temporary measure. Look through local ads. Other than that have you got a step ladder, the sort that open out and look like an upside down 'V' that are self supporting, you could drape them over that. You'd probably have to weigh the base down with something though. Please excuse my description.

 

I had exactly the same thing happen about three years ago - at about this time of the year. I also had a huge C. montana growing on it as well as some other stuff.

I did exactly as the others have said and left it lying on the ground. I decided to make an arch and a frame for my trellises out of wood that was much more substantial than a bought arch (and cheaper). I didn't lose any of my climbers, but I did have to cut back at least half my montana - it was simply too heavy to lift.

As Sheal says, if you can't replace the arch now, I would suggest it might be worth draping the montana over an old chair or any sort of frame that lifts it of the ground. It won't mind it - any frame is as good an an arch to a montana. But if its left on the wet ground over the winter, it might start to rot.

 

Hmm.. I'm going to have to do some thinking.

Unfortunately, Sheal, I don't think i can really try that idea, only because my garden does open up via a gate to the alleyway and so the ladder would probably get pinched!
I will try and find something though, even it temporary, to drape them over.