Re: Clematis
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: Clematis
- From: K*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:38:43 EDT
In a message dated 10/12/99 6:28:04 AM EST, janetble@otenet.gr writes:
<< there comes a point every summer, when the temp
rises sharply and all the semi mature shoots turn brown. >>
Janet:
Mine begins putting on new growth in February, simultaneous with blooming.
By summer, most of those new shoots have hardened up. I have mine growing on
the front porch, which faces east, and there is a Magnolia grandiflora just
southeast of it that blocks some of the sun it would otherwise get, so it
only gets morning sun, which seems to suit it just fine. Like all Clematis,
it likes a cool root run, and mine is shaded by the Magnolia and an Azalea,
which also provide a thick 'mulch' of leaves. I find it hard to believe that
it gets any hotter there in Crete than it does here in the Central Valley of
California, so I don't think heat alone can be the problem. It is one of
those things that is so strongly associated with Spring in my mind, that the
season just wouldn't be the same without it. My mother, who was raised in
Texas, feels the same way about Lilacs, and, although our climate is
ill-suited to Lilac culture, she valiantly continues to grow them for that
one year in five when they reward her efforts with abundant bloom.
Climate-appropriate gardening goes out the window when it comes to certain
plants, I find, especially those that bring back cherished memories of
childhood or of people and places left behind. My garden is 'peopled' with
such plants, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Kurt Mize
Stockton, California
USDA Zone 9
