All the Dirt on Gardening

We have two Clematis vines in our garden that bloom reliably in May. A third one blooms every few years when it feels up to the task.  Clematis Silver Moon in May The 3,000 Clematis cultivars have varying flowering times, shapes, sizes, colors and growing habits. Colors range from white to red and purple. Vine lengths vary from 3 to 15 feet. Most of us are familiar with spring blooming Clematis and look forward to hundreds of buds forming on our long-lived vines every year.  Most varieties need 6-hours of sun but want shaded roots in our area. Regular, deep, watering in soil that drains well will keep the roots healthy. Single, double, bell, saucer, tulip and star shaped flowers are available. The vines needs support from a fence, trellis or nearby shrubs. Look for fungus and disease resistant varieties.  Group 1, spring-blooming Clematis grow on last year‘s shoots in sheltered sun. Examples: Rebecca (large red), Josephine (mauve pink with  plum...

Regular pruning is much better than letting plants grow and grow without shaping. But, I've never pruned our 3 clematis vines. It's a little confusing since you are supposed to know what you have in order to prune at the correct time to make the plant healthier and bloom more. Did you know that the color we enjoy is not clematis's flowers? Their flowers have no petals. The color is sepals and stamens. The pretty fluffy plumes that show up after flowers fade is the stamens expanding and curling. In "Armitage's Vines and Climbers" Allan Armitage confesses that his favorite Clematis varieties are the Clematis texensis, Texas clematis, because they are not rampant growers, are idiot proof,  slow growing, take full sun and have little trouble with our humidity. Scarlet Leatherflower is another name for the Texas native Clematis. Our 3 vines came from assorted plant sales so their lineage is questionable. They bloomed less this year than ever before so one can ...