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Pick a Clematis montana.
These are quick growing, super-easy to care for, vigorous, happily covering any trellis or pergola you want them to cover, forgiving of mistakes,. They flower in late spring and early summer, and their blossoms - with four large white petals and a yellow centre ... Read review
Advantages: Fabulous climbing over a pergola Disadvantages: Unforgiving if you don't treat them right
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I think that a clematis is a much better choice - it's easier to care for, grows much quicker, smells just as nice, doesn't lose its leaves in winter, climbs high and wide, and needs very little attention.
As long as you choose the right one.
WHICH VARIETY TO CHOOSE
There are hundreds of different clematises! If you go to a large garden centre - or better still, a nursery specialising in climbing ... .../>
Pick a Clematis montana.
These are quick growing, super-easy to care for, vigorous, happily covering any trellis or pergola you want them to cover, forgiving of mistakes,. They flower in late spring and early summer, and their blossoms - with four large white petals and a yellow centre - smell deliciously of almonds.
The drawback of the montanas is their limite colour range. Basically, you have the choice ... more
BETTER THAN ROSES
If you have a wall, arbor, pergola or trellis in your garden, and want to grow something up it that's fragrant, lovely, romantic and blooming, you may think of getting a climbing rose.
Think again! Roses are slow growing, require a lot of attention and can be very prone to all kinds of nasty diseases. In winter, without their leaves, most roses look just dull and bare. Besides, their thorns can be a real nuisance.
I think that a clematis is a much better choice - it's easier to care for, grows much quicker, smells just as nice, doesn't lose its leaves in winter, climbs high and wide, and needs very little attention.
As long as you choose the right one.
WHICH VARIETY TO CHOOSE
There are hundreds of different clematises! If you go to a large garden centre - or better still, a nursery specialising in climbing plants - you're faced with a bewildering choice. Each looks more stunning than the other.
Most people, after some wondering and pondering, choose the one with the largest, most spectacular flowers in their favourite colour. They take it home, plant it, enjoy its blossoms for a few weeks, and then are frustrated when it withers and dies.
Chances are, they have either not planted it properly, or they have chosen the wrong type.
Instead of listing all the advantages and disadvantages of various types of clematis, which would fill a book and leave you more clueless than ever, I'm making the choice for you.
Will you trust my advice? Right then.
Pick a Clematis montana.
These are quick growing, super-easy to care for, vigorous, happily covering any trellis or pergola you want them to cover, forgiving of mistakes,. They flower in late spring and early summer, and their blossoms - with four large white petals and a yellow centre - smell deliciously of almonds.
The drawback of the montanas is their limite colour range. Basically, you have the choice between white and pink.
Either colour looks so stunning against the dark green leaves, it's perfect.
Clematis montana (with no additional name added) = pure white blooms
Clematis montana 'Elizabeth' = white with a pink flush.
Clematis montana 'Rubens' = pink
If you are confident enough gardener to grow several different clematises, consider growing different types close together, and let them intertwine. Or choose varieties that flower at different times, so that when your Clematis montana has stopped flowering, another one begins.
There are even some winter-flowering clematises now. I've bought a very young plant earlier this year, but it's still too early to report on how it's doing.
Consider that some Clematis are very fussy. Check how high they're growing. A montana can easily grow 10m or more, but some will only grow up to 2m, which is disappointing when you want them to cover the facade of a two-storey house.
Don't assume that, just because they're climbers, they will cling. There are some which will climb, but don't cling. You need to tie them carefully at every stage, or they collapse in a heap. Personally I don't think there's much point in buying a climber if it doesn't cling.
WHERE, WHEN AND HOW TO PLANT
You can plant a clematis at any time of the year. They like a sunny spot.
The trick is to plant them deeply. Plant it so that the stem is about 3cm deeper in the soil than it was in the pot. This is because the top of the roots are the most sensitive part of the plant. It dislikes heat and frost. For added protection, place some stones around the stem, or better still, heap some autumn leaves around the stem.
I would not recommend planting a clematis in a container, although it can be done. Unless you are very fastidious about how much water you give them, it's easy to over- or underwater a clematis, and they're sensitive to that. Once I overwatered a beautiful blue-flowering clematis. I didn't notice that the saucer in which the pot stood was full of water. The clematis died. :-(
If you put them in the ground, they have much more choice about how much water they want. Surplus water runs off, and if you don't give them enough, they'll simply grow deeper roots.
HOW TO ACHIEVE THE BEST EFFECTS
The most stunning effect is to grow a clematis over a pergola. A single Clematis montana will be enough to cover a pergola. Very romantic.
You can also allow a clematis to grow through trees and shrubs. Choose a shrub that doesn't flower at the same time as the clematis, then you'll have a long time of bloom. Roses and clematis do well together. You can also train a clematis up a tree.
However, choose a shrub or tree that can hold its own, or a vigorous clematis will simply overgrow it and take away all its light.
WHERE AND WHEN TO BUY
Unless you are a patient, experienced gardener, I recommend you buy a clematis plant that's about chest-high (including pot).
These will cost between £5 and £15 per plant.
You'd think that the price depends mostly on the variety, but that is not so.
Since most customers go for plants that are currently in flower, garden centres charge most for those.
Here's a tip how to get them cheap: You can get one that has just finished flowering for a third of the price! It will continue growing through the year, even in winter if it is a montana, and when the season comes, you'll have a big, healthy, flowering plant.
Check the stems of the clematis just above the ground. Choose the one with the healthiest stems.
HO TO GET THEM FOR FREE
I'm afraid this advice is mostly for the patient, experienced gardener.
You can grow clematis from seed; several seed catalogues offer various kinds of clematis. They even have the check to print on their packets that they are 'easy'. Well, take it from me: easy they are not. I've tried several varieties, and although I'm normally good with seeds, I have only had moderate success. They are slow to germinate - if they germinate at all - and then the seedlings are awfully sensitive.
If you already own a clematis, preferably one that's 'rampant' and spreading, take one of its shoots, pin it to the ground with several hair pins, and cover it with a bit of compost. You can aid the process by first scratching the underside of the shoot where it will lie on the ground. It's best to do this in spring. Then, in spring the following year, you may have some baby clematises growing.
As I said, it's only for patient people.
I'm keen to recommend ways to propagate your own plants from seeds or cuttings, but in the case of a clematis, I think it's not worth it.
HOW TO CARE FOR IT
There are all sorts of complicated rules about how to prune clematis. If you have a Clematis montana, you can ignore them all.
Cut the plant back when it grows where you don't want it to grow. It doesn't matter if you cut too much or too little, the plant will forgive you.
Last year, I was looking after a garden for someone whose pride and joy was a pergola overgrown with stunning clematis montana. In one moment of stupidity he mistakenly cut the one branch that led from the plant to the trellis. He was deeply grieved when he saw what he had done. He had killed all the wonderful growth on the pergola!
However, the clematis grew back very quickly. I helped it along a bit with wire training, and within a year, it has covered one side of the huge pergola, as well as the top of it, and by spring it will probably have grown down on the other side.
If you want to be particularly nice to your clematis, feed it occasionally. Don't use multi-purpose fertiliser; it doesn't have the right ingredients. But there's no need to buy expensive special clematis food: cheap tomato fertiliser contains all a clematis needs.
I hope you enjoyed this review, and I wish you much fun selecting and growing your own.
Advantages: Beautiful flowers Disadvantages: Can take over the garden
...first became aware of the clematis many years ago when the bus on which I travelled to school passed a house covered in huge blue flowers. I was so impressed that I made a point of finding out what the flowers were and made up my mind that I wanted to grow plants like that in my garden. Since that time I have indeed grown them and, at present, have five well established plants and three more waiting to be planted.
Clematis is usually divided into ... ...was forced to cut the clematis right back. It grew back twice as strong and has never missed a year for producing flowers.
Group Two: This group contains the flowers with which we are all familiar flowering during May and June – and possibly having a second flowering later in the year. These are deciduous and should be pruned in early spring before the new growth begins. It is only required to cut out the dead and damaged growth and trim back to ...
Minha 20.06.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clematis
Advantages: Variety of colour, coverage and LONG season Disadvantages: When you don't have room for any more
...I have been growing Clematis ever since I married and we bought our first house with a garden and have extended the range of varieties as we have moved from house to house.
The variety of Clematis is quite staggering from our own "Old Man's Beard" through the various other European Species such as Clem. Campaniflora (a very pretty late flowering Portugese species with lovely pale blue bell like flowers); across to the Far East and New Zealand where ... ...be able to find a clematis for any part of your garden as long as you are willing to treat it fairly.
One or two basic rules:
THEY TEND TO BE THIRSTY in the Summer months so make sure that they have dampish soil at least twice a week.
THEY MUST BE PLANTED DEEP...the top of the compost in the pot must be at least four inches below the surface level of your flower bed (and do prepare the hole you've dug with several handfuls of decent compost such ...
mmpr 25.04.2004 (06.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clematis
Advantages: lovely flowers and good coverage Disadvantages: can be a bit wild if not managed
There are now so many clematis on offer everywhere from local nursery to big DIY stores that it can be confusing to know which is the right one for you and your garden. However, clematis can brighten up a plain corner or hide an unsightly wall, and will provide exotic and lovely flowers without really being too much trouble at all.
When we moved to our present house we inherited a shabby looking clematis “Nelly Moser” which I am sure ... ...this type of later flowering clematis is to cut it back to healthy shoots after flowering ( not hack it back like I did!) it just goes to show they can be more forgiving than you think. A very common clematis is C. Montana, which is a vigorous climber that will smother all manner of fences, sheds etc. if unchecked. There are several varieties including C. Montana var. Rubens “Elizabeth” with purple/pinky flowers. Montana will grow almost ...
lebaron 29.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clematis
Clematis is a climing plant so it will need to be planted next to a wall or fencing and if not you will need to provide trelis for support as they tend to droop and fall over else. They only have shallow roots and can easily be riped from the ground in bad winds.
Clematis plants have lovely green leaves and great big beautiful flowers with a circular center and 8 petals around the edges.
They grow quite big and if not pruned back down to size they ... ...wide, when they bloom they look beautiful, covered all over in single flowers and clumps of flowers, i have got two blue ones in my garden.
They flower from the begining of april untill the end of september, they need a lot of direct sunlight which can make finding the prfect spot by a fence or wall a problem as it is likely to shade the light. To solve this i have put mine in two circles i have cut out in the grass and put two pieces of trelis ...
danniell 11.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clematis
Advantages: Great varieties, very good looking Disadvantages: Need to be cut back regularly
The clematis is one of the favourite climbing plants to be found in the gardens of England, and have been grown in this country for hundreds of years, but the only variety which is native to these shores is Clematis Vitalba, or the old man's beard.
However, over the years hundreds of different varieties have been introduced from Europe, America and the Far East and these days there are a multitude of different varieties all tugging endearingly at ... ...but in many ways, the clematis is far more useful and interesting than the rose, with an enormous variation in the types to be had.
The word 'clematis' comes from the Greek word klema, which literally translates as being a vine branch, and evokes perfectly the clematis and the way it winds around its supporting structures.
-------So goes the guide book - NOW, THE dave27 GUIDE TO THE CLEMATIS!!!!
I fell in love with clematis about four years ago, ...
dave27 15.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clematis
Advantages: beautiful flowers Disadvantages: harmful if eaten!
Japanese Clematis Iris
'Iris ensata (kaempheri)'
This type of clematis is beautiful but harmful if eaten so I now avoid it in my garden just incase my 2 year old decides to see what it tastes like when I'm not looking!
They have large yellow, red or purple flowers with ridged, sword-shaped leaves. This wonderful, beardless iris works well in a contemporary or minimalist garden. Ideal for a sunny waterside planting or well-drained border, and to enhance flowering you can divide congested clumps every three to five years.
This Clematis likes:-
Position: full sun or partial shade
Soil: well-drained, moderately fertile, neutral to slightly acid soil
Rate of growth: average
Flowering period: June and July
Flower colour: yellow, red or purple
Other features: ridged, sword-shaped leaves; all parts of the plant may cause ...
Advantages: Gives good support Disadvantages: none
expanded or closed up. Opened this trellis makes diamond patters with the bamboo. Closed up it just looks like a bunch of wood in a bundle together.
*Why I bought this trellis~~~
I needed to support clematis up against a wooden fence. This trellis is ideal for supporting any climbing plants.
*How I fixed this trellis ~~~~
I actually tied mine on with string to the wooden fence where I was attaching it, there were already a few nails and pins in the fence. I could also have nailed/screwed it on. To fix it to a wall you attach wooden batons to the wall then screw the trellis into that.
*How it copes with climbing plants~~~~~
Very well really as long as it firmly attached to the fence. My clematis has grown a lot and quiet heavy.
*Durability~~~~~
It seems to be quite durable mine has lasted a few years . If you can due to ...
Advantages: easy to take down Disadvantages: takes a little longer to attach to the wall
after re painting the house the one problem left was how to display my lovely clematis. The old trellis-which had only been insitu for about two years had come away from the wall and had become entwined in the clematis. I purchased a new wall trellis and on talking down the old one was horiffied at the snails and much that had been created. after a few days pondering I came up with the following idea. I decided to fit a series of cup hooks onto the wall and attach the trellis. Out came the masonary drill and the raw plugs. i attached 6 cup hooks into the wall and mounted the wall trellis adjusted the cup hooks so the trellis was firmly secured and reattached the clematis. The beauty of this is that when i cut back the clematis I can easily unhook the trellis and clean the brickwork. ...
