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The Garden Club: Preparing to Plant Clematis

With a bit of pre-planting preparation, clematis can provide spectacular vertical color and interest in any St. Peters garden.

Clematis is a great addition to any St. Peters' area garden. Will a bit of preparation before planting, clematis will bring years of stunning vertical color to any home garden.

There are hundreds of clematis species worldwide and the majority of varieties are climbing plants. Some species grow upwards to 30 feet, but most of the types found at the home and garden stores in the area grow in the 8-foot to 14-foot range.

The majority of clematis found in home and garden stores or nurseries in the area grow vigorously in our climate. When ordering clematis online or via a catalog, always double check that the plant is suitable for the St. Peters climate.

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The bloom color of the clematis tends to fade over the life of the bloom. As a rule, most pastel colored flowers fade to a near white when grown in full sun. More vibrant colors can fade to a pastel hue in direct sunlight. As a general rule, clematis prefers a bright shady spot or filtered sunlight.

Late summer or early fall, as the temperatures dip, is a great time to plant clematis. This gives the plant the opportunity to get its root system growing vigorously before winter temperatures set it. Many home gardeners prefer fall planting for many types of plants, because the plant is less focused on new top growth and more focused on root growth.

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The Missouri Garden Extension recommends the following procedure for planting clematis.

  • Dig a hole about 18 inches deep.
  • Mix the soil removed from the hole with 50 percentage well-composted cow manure. This provides nutrients and also improves the soil texture.
  • Refill the hole with the soil/manure mixture to the point where the roots of the clematis are about 5 inches from the surface of the ground.
  • Add the clematis and backfill with the rest of the soil mixture.

Clematis prefers soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. The plant also does best with a thick layer of mulch to protect the root system from the cold of winter and the heat of the summer.

Trellises and fence posts provide proper support for the climbing vines of the clematis. Most commercially grown clematis come with a bamboo stake. When transplanting the clematis, leave the stake in the base of the plant and lean the stake toward the ultimate climbing target. Once the clematis has established itself on its permanent support, you can remove the bamboo stake.

Once the clematis blooms fade, some gardeners have success with a second blooming by deadheading. Without deadheading, the seed heads remain on the plant. Leaving the seed heads is harmless to the plant and many gardeners find them an attractive texture addition to their garden scape.

Knowing the variety of clematis is essential for proper pruning. Most experts agree that poor pruning cannot permanently damage or kill clematis, but it can inhibit blooming. Some experts recommend that any clematis planted in the fall should be aggressively pruned the first February or March that the plant is in the ground. For general pruning of established clematis, the following are basic guidelines from the Missouri Garden Extension:

  • Spring blooming clematis can be pruned in late winter. To prune, remove only the dead and damaged foliage, cutting to the highest pair of healthy buds.
  • For summer or early fall blooming clematis that blooms on new growth, prune the plant hard at the end of the growing season or in the spring, removing all old growth that did not die over the winter.

Following the few, simple guidelines can ensure that your clematis provides years of beautiful blooms for your garden.

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