PLANTING AND PRUNING A CLEMATIS

by Three Dogs in a Garden

A few brief notes on planting Clematis: Clematis don't like to be moved, so choose your site carefully. Soak the plant in a pail of water for 10-15 minutes before planting. Place a generous layer of well-rotted manure or compost at the bottom of your planting hole. The root ball of your clematis should be about 5 cm below ground level. Back fill the hole with soil that has a generous amount of peat moss and/or compost and a few handfuls of bone meal. Water thoroughly and frequently.

planting and pruning a clematis, flowers, gardening

Clematis prefer fertile, well-drained alkaline soil. They like a sunny location, but will not tolerate excessively hot environments.

Clematis like their top growth to be in at least six hours of sun while the base of the plant is in cool shade. For this reason it is a good idea to plant a low growing perennial or shrub at the base of your Clematis vines.

I always have trouble keeping the pruning groups straight, but paying proper attention will give you the best floral display.

Here are a few quick notes on pruning:

Group A: These clematis flower in early spring on growth produced in the previous season. It is best to prune them shortly after they flower.

Group B: These clematis bloom in early summer on the previous season's growth and then again later in the gardening season on the current season's growth. Remove all dead or weak stems in March and prune the rest to a leaf bud at about 25 cm above ground level.

Group C: This final group produce blooms on new growth each year. Cut back all vines to the ground in March.

Most people think of popular cultivars like 'Jackmanii' when they think of Clematis, but there are actually a wonderful array of colors, flower forms and plant heights to choose from.

Some clematis vines can reach a height of 20-30 feet. All Clematis vines need some form of support. With this shorter cultivar Clematis vine, a tomato cage has been used to keep it upright.

This is Clematis 'Betty Corning'. It has nodding mauve flowers and blooms for 6 weeks or more. It can reach a height of 8 feet. Hardy to USDA Zone 4. Pruning Group C.

Look for this newer cultivar called 'Sweet Summer Love' at your local nursery this spring. Unlike many clematis it is supposedly fragrant. Its small flowers open deep red in July and mature into a purple-violet color. This clematis can reach to 12 ft. Pruning Group C. Hardy to USDA Zone 5.

This is one of the shorter cultivars of Clematis growing in my front garden. This is Clematis 'Bourbon'. It reaches a height of 6-8 ft. Pruning Group C. Hardy to USDA Zone 4.

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1 question

Barbara Denn on Apr 21, 2017

A nursery had clematis in 8- 10 inch pots across the top . Can I plant the whole pot in the ground by cutting the bottom out or do I need to take it out of the pot it seems that it would really disturb the plant to take it out of the plastic pot.

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Dianna Wood on Apr 23, 2014
thanks so much for this post. We just moved into a retro mobile home and discovered one of these in the garden that had not been tended in over 18 months . They are exotic and stunning! And now we know how to best nurture it back to life!

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