How do I grow clematis?

Hi. I'm new here and new to gardening too. My friend has some lovely clematis which she recently showed me and I'd like to have a go at growing my own from scratch. But being a newbie I really need some guidance ... I'd like to know in particular:

Sowing - when to do this
Situation - where they'll do best (in the open / lots of sun / minimal sun etc.).
Soil type - do they favour certain compositions? Should I fertilize them?
Watering - how much and how often
Pruning - is this required, and if so then how much
Pests and diseases - what are the dangers and how to protect against them

I'd be so grateful for any replies.

Barbara Green

 

Welcome to Gardener's Corner
Sure there will be more knowledgeable than me on Clematis but here's the best I can do.
Sowing- not easy from seed, takes considerable time to germinate. I'd personally buy a plant. They are not usually expensive to buy, you can pick them up even at supermarkets for a few £s. Easier from cuttings but takes a while to get a decent sized plant this way. You could maybe try getting cuttings to strike off your friend's Clematis. Info on how to on the net.
Situation- most prefer their heads in the sun and roots in the shade. Ie plant in sunny position and maybe put the likes of big stones over the roots to keep cool.
Soil type- not that fussy but preferably fertile and reasonably free draining. Feed when in strong growth with general fertilizer like Miracle Grow but not essential.
Watering- totally dependant on the weather! If grown in a tub/pot don't let it dry out but doesn't need to be constantly soaked. I always plant deep, ie plant about 4-6 inches deeper than how it's growing in the pot when purchased.
Pruning- depends on variety but usual to prune Summer flowering in the Spring when the plant begins to show new growth. Spring flowering can be pruned after flowering. Most common summer flowering types you tend to prune to about 3 or 4 buds so the plant will flower lower down,if not pruned you'll get a sore neck looking skyward at the flowers! The most common Spring flowering (Montana) you don't have to prune other than to keep in check as they are quite vigerous.
Pests and diseases- most common imo are mildew and Clematis Wilt. Former can occur if plant allowed to get very dry, lack of good air circulation around the plant, you can spray against it, plant unlikely to die if attacked, latter is a pain and I haven't really found anything to prevent it, plant will usually collapse but often reappears the next season. Best to get more info on the net.
Sure there will be others on GC who can offer better advice than the foregoing but it's vaguely accurate! Clematis come in all shapes and sizes with some needing different conditions/treatment than what I've suggested, this is the basics.

 

Silu has it covered

I've become sceptical that that is a myth, but I see it touted as standard practice everywhere. Supposedly protects against Clematis Wilt, I've never seen any "Trials" evidence that it actually works, and it probably only applies to the early flowering large flower group, so perhaps both not necessary and disadvantageous for all other groups?

 

I've become sceptical that that is a myth, but I see it touted as standard practice everywhere. Supposedly protects against Clematis Wilt, I've never seen any "Trials" evidence that it actually works, and it probably only applies to the early flowering large flower group, so perhaps both not necessary and disadvantageous for all other groups?[/quote]
Interesting Kristen, to be honest I didn't even know that was the reason for deep planting, certainly didn't work on a few of mine which bought it with Clematis Wilt, did say I was no expert! I thought it was to encourage more stems to form/insurance if above ground there were "problems". Just in from surveying the garden as have sun!!! ALL the new growth on my various Clematis is looking decidedly droopy, so not expecting anything to flower for god knows how long. I'm presuming they will recover if we ever go above freezing!

 

Hi Barbara , most supermarkets will be selling Clematis for a couple of pounds soon . These are young plants , B and Q etc will sell bigger plants for around £7. Just dig a nice deep hole and plant in multi purpose compost and water it in well . With a bit off luck you should get some flowers first year

 

Just to confirm that it is worthwhile planting deeply. The idea is that the crown of the plant will produce strong new growth to replace any top growth damaged, dried out or diseased Far more clematis fail just before flowering due to drought than wilt...they're thirsty plants when in full growth!

 

There are some interesting articles on Clematis here:
http://www.howellsonclematis.co.uk/Pages/Articles.html
and this one on planting (which has a contrary view to the norm):
http://www.howellsonclematis.co.uk/Pages/Gnews13.html