Is now a good time to buy clematis?

Or are there so many in the garden centres because they're in flower?

 

Probably the latter. Stuff sells when it's in flower (impulse buys). Hot and dry weather isn't ideal for planting anything, but if they have a variety you want and you can keep it well-watered, go for it. It might not be available so easily in the autumn.

 

Sarah Raven have a lot of clematis reduced at the moment @BB3

 

At 8.49 on a Friday morning,
Probably as good a time as any.

 

It isn't the buying of them - it's what you do with them afterwards that matters, even when they're mature specimens at least a couple of years old
Sarah Raven took over Taylor's [who were always brilliant] but I'd be very reluctant to use her due to prices. You'd get virtaully every clematis they stock elsewhere, and for a better price.

 

@fairygirl, I agree about Sarah Raven and only mentioned them because some of the clematis are reduced by 50% so cheaper than elsewhere at the moment.

 

Fair enough @katecat58 - maybe they're struggling to sell them due to the usual high prices!

 

Maybe @fairygirl. But I was at Bridgemere GC the other day, where everything seemed to me to be very expensive, yet people were checking out with full trolleys. I think perhaps many people buy plants rarely (maybe once a year?) and therefore have no idea of prices.

 

I hope it's a good time to buy as my daughter bought me one reduced to 88p at Tesco. It is very healthy and already has something like a 2ft runner. It is very difficult for me at the moment as I have been unfit for some time but I am hoping I will be back in business very soon. My garden is an allotment so not just outside my door but across the road. It seems to have thrived on neglect! SIL keeps the grass cut for me.
A couple of pics to give you an idea.




Hi @fairygirl Good to "see" you! Above were taken some time ago now.

 

I generally find that any time of year is good for buying clematis and, as @fairygirl says, it's what you do afterwards that counts.

I always plant mine in a bigger pot with good compost and nurture them for a year or two to help them grow a good, robust root system to support all the growth and flowers I want to see afterwards. It's important also to know what pruning group you're buying and what aspect the clematis prefers before planting one in the borders.

Some, like the viticellas appreciate being planted deeper in the soil to encourage more shoots to form and need plent of fedding and watering to establish.

Others, like the alpinas and macropetalas don't want to be planted deeper and need less water but they also have a shorter flowering span than the viticellas.

 

Hi @Fran IOM - sorry you've been struggling. Hope you're doing better now. The wee clem will do well for you.
I know what you mean about prices @katecat58 - and you're probably right. Many people won't really know the varying prices of plants. I've often bought supermarket plants, and I currently have a nice C. Aotearoa which is flowering nicely, and cost me a couple of quid 2 years ago, but I now draw the line at the price of some GC plants [although I rarely visit GCs] and even some of the online ones. If you can divide, or take cuttings etc, that's a great way of increasing stock, especially if you know someone who has a plant you like, and they can do that for you. Swapping is one of the cheapest forms of acquiring new plants, but - if you don't know, you don't know.
Like my immediate neighbour. A nice selection of dead stuff that she keeps replacing with other unsuitable things. Rinse and repeat. I wouldn't mind but when she plonks them in pots right at the entrance/end of my path [it adjoins her plot] people must think they're mine.....

I have to plant the later flowering clems fairly level. It comes down to that problem again of slugs getting the shoots the instant they appear. No matter how good the drainage [I amend all the clay soil] the conditions here make it very difficult to get them going. It's why I've decided -no more. Pots from now on.
The early ones like alpinas etc do far better for me because their new growth comes from an established, woody structure, so once they're in good fettle they can cope. I've cut back C. alp. Constance a couple of times and it's back to full size within 6 months. It's gone bonkers this year after being hacked down so that I could paint the fence. C. koreanas are still no use though. They can't cope with the ground/climate at all - and as katecat describes re prices -I'm not forking out umpteen times for them!