CLEMATIS - QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

[Jasmine]

If you are happy to use slug pellets it will give them a chance to get started Auricula - bet they come back next year - if you put some pellets down now you may spot new shoots almost straight away.
I'm not having a good time getting Will Goodwin going but I am determined ;D

[Auricula]

Slug pellets are now on my list for tomorrow Jas..thanks

[Plocket]

Another trick is to bake eggshells then (when they are cold!) crush them and sprinkle them around the plants. Coffee grinds are good too - scatter them around the plants. I've also tried pouring coffee onto the plant but I don't know if it helps and it'll get washed off if it rains - make a strong pot of coffee, let it cool then water the plant so that the coffee touches as many leaves and stalks as possible.

Are any of the plants hanging in there Auricula?

[Auricula]

Nope....not that I can see

[Plocket]

Oh dear

[Dutchy]

Jul 29, 2010 15:04:35 GMT Plocket said:

I'd say absolutely yes in this country Dutchy, but I'm not sure how quickly your winters come or how hard they are. Basically the rule is that you can move them if the ground isn't frozen. I like to give them a chance to start getting established before the winter comes, but there's no reason why you can't put them in the ground then give them a good mulch to keep the worst of the cold off. How cold does it get with you?

Hard to predict our winters. We sometimes get wet all through and things rot like mad. But we also get to minus 20C if that is but one week we are fine. More common is minus 10 for a few weeks and most plants don't mind.
Last winter we had a full month of minus 20.
Did the apples loads of good as those like the cold and do not make buds too soon.

I think I am safe replanting in October then as rule of thumb has it that we normally get the first frost in the weekend nearest to 21 of November. ( and loads of wet throughout the rest of the year with real frost hitting us from January onwards and February being the worst.)

Thanks for helping out.

[Plocket]

I think you'll be ok planting in October. Clematis can cope with some moisture during winter but don't want to be waterlogged. We had down to -10C this winter and most of my clems survived. I think the ones I lost suffered from a lack of moisture rather than the cold

I look forward to hearing how you get on with moving yours

[Tig]

Plocket!!! My Mrs Cholmondeley has opened its first flower .... it's mauve! The foliage is right, pale green, and some photos on the web show a similar coloured flower, but I thought it was pale blue! Will take photo tomorrow if the middle bit opens a bit more

Tig

[Jasmine]

Was it a Morrisons' Mrs Cholmondeley Tig. I'm just thinking of my Morrisons' Sunset

[Tig]

I got it from my favourite shop Jas - not had any duds before

This is it yesterday, not fully open yet, just not the colour I was expecting! It is in the shade though

[Plocket]

That looks like a pretty good Mrs Cholmondeley to me Tig - and that's what is often referred to as "blue" in clematis talk. Hopefully next year you'll get semi-double flowers

[Tig]

Thanks Plocket, never go off the colour of the flower shown on the label then! ;D

x Tig

[Plocket]

Even the labels can be deceptive Tig! If you aren't sure what you are going to get then go and check a book from the book section before you buy

[Jasmine]

Has anyone ever had any luck with clematis cuttings? I have tried twice this year to get a Rebecca cutting to take but have just put the last attempt outside (sorry Tig ) - it has gone mouldy and is riddled with little flies.
I wonder if layering might be a better idea

[Tig]

I got an RHS Practicals book on clematis this year and it had full 'destructions' for taking cuttings. I've followed it to the letter and taken them from several different ones I have growing. Needless to say most of them rotted and disappeared into the compost! But ..... I have had success with Josephine! I somehow managed to 'prune' the only healthy foliage off mine after it had flowered, and in desperation used it for cuttings. I got four decent stem pieces as specified in the book and three are still growing with roots coming out the bottom of the pot! Would you like me to post the info I followed Jas? Obviously it didn't work for all of them, but I shall try again next year as with a bit of practice I could get quite good at it ;D

The little flies are probably fungus gnats - they seem to get everywhere!

x Tig

[Jasmine]

That would make sense about the flies Tig - I used to get them in the little compost bin by the sink til I got a lidded one.

I'd be very interested in the destructions you had. I followed the ones in Carole Klein's book but each lot of 4 cuttings has been a failure. I really wanted to get a Rebecca to root. Well done on the Josephine

[Chuckles]

I've been a bit hit and miss in the past with Clem cuttings Jasmine. I followed Plockets advice and improved my success rate gardenworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=borders&thread=4773&post=126953 as she said "Some clematis take better than others but it's fun to try and see what you can achieve"

I've never had any results from seed though except with self sown ones I keep finding from this thug www.wildaboutgardens.org/plants/climber/clematis-vitalba.aspx

[Jasmine]

Oh dear - good old trusty Old man's beard!

Thanks for the link Chuckles. Will have a good read tomorrow.

[Jasmine]

Thanks Chuckles. I've just had a good read of that and I'm going to try layering and cuttings next year. Will also water the cuttings with fungicide as suggested - I didn't do that this year.

[Tig]

I forgot Plocket had been good enough to share instructions (yet another senior moment, I do seem to be having a lot lately : Thanks for the link Chuckles, I would never have got it to come up on the right page!

I didn't water the cuttings with fungicide either, perhaps that would have helped mine, although I note that there are several which are a 'challenge' to grow from cuttings, which in my novice circumstances probably should read impossible.

The only additional info from my efforts was that I dipped the ends into hormone rooting powder and dibbed the holes with a pencil then firmed them in.

I did take internodal cuttings, but they didn't get any bottom heat, in fact the pot stood outside from when I did them until a few weeks ago (they are now in one of the plastic growhouses) I did cover the pot with a clear plastic bag and watered from the bottom.

I have some seed to try this year as well, so fingers crossed I could get a new hybrid ;D

x Tig

[Jasmine]

I didn't notice anything on clems that were a challenge - is that something you've read in one of your books Tig or is it in Plocket's 'bit'?

I used hormone rooting powder, a plastic bag and bottom heat from the boiler which is coming through a work surface so is very gentle.

[Jasmine]

Good luck with the seed Tig - you could create Empress Tig ;D

[Tig]

The list of easy to root, moderate and difficult is in my clem book (not sure if it was in Plockets advice )

Here is the list of 'easy' ones (have to say a lot of the ones I tried and failed with were in the first two lists :

Alpina; montana; tangutica: tibetana; Bill McKenzie;

Moderately Easy

Marcropetala; Viticella; larg-flowered hybrids;

Difficult to root
Armandii
Texensis

There is also a list of those suitable to grow from seed which I'm happy to post if anyone wants to know

I'm hoping for a 'Princess Tig' Jas

x Tig

[Jasmine]

Princess Tig is even better Tig ;D

I guess Rebecca would be a large flowered hybrid...and therefore moderately easy

[Chuckles]

The easiest one I've ever got to root was a Marcropetala - Lagoon 2 od 3 cutting took and now have new homes www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/climbers/clematis/bell-shaped-flowers/classid.896/ lovely clem with masses of flowers, so masses of those lovely seed heads.

[Ladygardener]

Could anyone tell me if now would be an ok time to plant out my Ville De Lion (sp) that I bought last year and kept in it's pot over the winter. It's just starting to come into bud and I put up the Oblisk for it today. The ground is'nt frozen or anything.

[Jasmine]

I planted my poor old Ernest Markham just after we got back from holiday LG (about January 8th'ish). I felt so sorry for it stuck in its pot still that I thought it couldn't be any worse off in the ground - it still has little green buds on it.

[Tig]

I'd say go for it LG. If you plant it at least 3" below the current pot surface into the ground the roots should not be too cold. Ville de Lyon is one of the toughest ones I've got. Warmer in the ground than in a pot unless it is somewhere warm?

x Tig

[Ladygardener]

Thank you ladies. I have it in the most sheltered pot but it still froze during the really cold weather. I'll get it into the ground tomorrow then if I get a chance. It's good to know it's so hardy Tig, I got it half price at the end of the season. ;D

[Chuckles]

I'd agree with whats been said LG. It's a Group 3 Clem LG and will be needing a prune any time now gardenworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=borders&thread=4773&post=126952 planting it deeper will also be good for some of new growth you should get from the base. I love this clem