Uh oh, did I just kill my Clematis? (flowers, growing, Hydrangea)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone out there an expert on Clematis? I just bought a Little Duckling Clematis, which I want to run along a fence. In removing it from the pot, I accidentally bent the main stem. The outer coating of the stem is cracked but the inner fibers look ok.
Did I just kill it?
Please tell me I can prune it back and get it to start again... or even better that it will heal.
Anyone out there an expert on Clematis? I just bought a Little Duckling Clematis, which I want to run along a fence. In removing it from the pot, I accidentally bent the main stem. The outer coating of the stem is cracked but the inner fibers look ok.
Did I just kill it?
Please tell me I can prune it back and get it to start again... or even better that it will heal.
I doubt you killed the whole plant. You will have to clip off what broke in half though; I'm sure it will be fine. I have 4 clematis and I just love them! I bought the Barbara Jackman last year for $4.88, it didn't look that well, and very small. However, it did bloom one flower, and this year, I see that it grew a lot of new stems and there is one bloom on it already.
Good luck and they can be addicting.
Clematis do best if pruned down to just 2-4 pairs of leaves, but who can stand to cut off more than half of their new little plant? If pruned this way, they'll send out 1-2 new stems from each pair of leaves giving you a nice bushy plant next year instead of something with one scrawny stem about 5 feet long.
I believe this is a type III clematis. You'll want to prune it every year after it flowers. It will put out lots of new tendrils and vines for next year's flowers. I know it's hard, but it does make a difference.
Anyone ever grow a clematis bush ? It's not a vine. Bought one last year, bunnies chomped it down. This year it's growing well. Hope it keeps growing good.
Here in ND, I and the neighbors have never paid attention to type I, II, or III clematis. We prune them all the same.....when they start to bud out in spring, we just prune back the dead stuff to the top live bud. Otherwise, the varieties that are supposed to be cut way back every year rarely get much over 4-8'. The way we do it, there are often live buds 3-4' off the ground, so we have that much of a headstart in the spring. I prune my climbing roses and hydrangeas that way, too.
If you live down south, you'll probably be better off following the directions for pruning the various types of clematis, since you get so much more & faster growth down there. Here, I usually get live buds on anything that was under the snow all winter, but anything above the snow is winterkilled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paperhouse
I believe this is a type III clematis. You'll want to prune it every year after it flowers. It will put out lots of new tendrils and vines for next year's flowers. I know it's hard, but it does make a difference.
Last edited by 3-Oaks; 05-14-2009 at 11:05 AM..
Reason: typo
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.