Clematis - Review - Better Than Roses

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Clematis "These flowers may be solitary or in large clusters. The leaves usually are compound--i.e., have ... more ...Clematis - ... several parts. Common species include woodbine (C. virginiana); traveler's joy, or old-man's-beard (C. vitalba); virgin's bower (C. cirrhosa); and vine bower

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Review about Clematis

Better Than Roses

Review from queen_rain about Clematis, 23.01.05

Author's product rating

Advantages Stunning blooms, fast growing climber, may be scented
Disadvantages some don't smell, some don't climb

Summary:

Full review

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.

Recommend yes

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