Re: Burgandy Clematis -Reply -Reply -Reply -Reply

My apologies to the list, I meant to send this
privately.  I was in too big of hurry!

>>> SUSAN SAXTON <SS@Schwabe.com>
06/17/98 10:02am >>>
Hi Peggy, don't give up on me.  My son is
getting married in 3 weeks, I'm finishing up the
seasonal work in the yard, my bestfriend is
moving (and I'm helping) and my e-mail is at
work.  I've saved your message and will get back
to you on mail order sources.  If you are a quick
techie, I can tell you the name of the place I
was thinking of was "Completely Climatis" back
east somewhere.  Don't know if they have a
website.  If you find one, let me know. 
Otherwise, I'll *dig* out their catalogue and get
back to you probably next week.  Mileagers
(Wisconsin) also has many for order, as does
Forest Farm, Greer Gardens (Oregon) and of
course Wayside.  I have not mail ordered
climatis from any of these (except Wayside),
including Completely Climatis, but have
ordered perennials/shrubs for all of them
(except CC) and they have excellent stock.  I'm
hunting for Perle d' Azure and climatis
flammula and will probably have to mail order
to get them.


>>> Peggy Enes <peggy@unicom.net>
06/11/98 02:05pm >>>
At 11:48 AM -0600 6/12/98, SUSAN SAXTON
wrote:


> Hi Peggy:
>
> You wrote:
>
> All four sound beautiful and promising. I'll
> probably try them all
> if I can find them.
>
> There are also several mail order sources.
> Wayside is one, but they can take awhile to
get
> established.  Let me know if you want
catalogue
> names (usually no pictures, however).

I would very much appreciate it. If you don't
think others on the list
would be interested please email me privately.
Have you had good luck
with Wayside? Tom Clothier was kind enough
to send me the URL for a
picture of his 'Red Cardinal' which is a perfect
match for my Japanese
maple--now I have to find one.

> I have homes for the ones that don't work
> where the
> color is less critical.
>
> One of the things I've been known to do is
> snap off a flower of the climatis and walk
> around the yard until I find a pleasing color
> combination.  This means moving the
climatis
> sometimes, but I really have not found that
to
> be a problem.  Obviously you have to
consider
> location (if the climatis will like it there) and
> space (how big it gets).

The most terrifying words in the English
language to me are, "resents
transplanting." :)

> Ooh.  I just thought of another burgandy-ish
> one.  It is climatis viticelli 'Purpurea Plena'
and
> it is a double!  A little large at 10 feet, but it
> does bloom MID-summer versus the others
> that mostly bloom early summer (that can
> make a difference when trying to combine
> them).  If you are going with New Dawn as
the
> host plant, I'd go with an early summer one.
> My Purpurea Plena is growing in the middle
of
> a large perennial bed, up a large tomato cage
> and cascading over into a 'Silver King'
> artemesia.  Silver King doesn't mature 'till
> mid-summer, so a mid-summer bloomer was
in
> order.  You can see the possibilities are
endless,
> even though our budgets are not!!!!

I have a 'Will Goodwin' (mine is definitely
purple--not blue like the
picture on the tag) scrambling through some
cerastium. I think silver
foliage and any of the darker clematis would be
pretty stunning. On the
other hand, there is some Perle d'Azur???
(cerastium ate both
tags--silvery, pale lavender with pale pink) in
the same bed that has
an almost ethereal quality as a combo but if the
cerastium is blooming
the lighter color just blends in. It might be fun
to trail that one
through a bed of stachys.

> finding a clematis in bloom at a nursery
where I
> live
> doesn't seem to be in the cards.
>
> Get a good climatis book, it is worth its
weight
> in gold.  For pictures, descriptions (they
really
> are pretty consistent and detailed), color and
> pruning advice.  The one in Wayside's
> catalogue by Evison (?) is very good and
about
> $18-20, well worth it and a perfect beginning.
> If you are into roses and climatis, there is a
> book out last year, something like "Roses and
> Climatis as Companions" written by a primo
> climatarian in Britain which is EXCELLENT
> (but $40).  Well worth it though, and
extremely
> enjoyable winter reading!  LOTS of pictures.

That sounds like a good candidate for a Xmas
list item. Is the
companion book generally available in the US?

> really had my heart set on the New
> Dawn/clematis/maple combo and the
> people at our local nurseries reacted like I
was
> asking for the moon.
>
> If they aren't into what you're into, they're
> often no help.
>
> Where do you live?  That can be essential to
> know.

I'm in a tiny zone 6 pocket SW of Kansas City.
The main problems in our
area seem to be compacted, farmed-out clay soil
and winds. I can fix
the soil problem, trellisis and annual vines help
with the wind until I
can figure out where to best put trees and
shrubs for more permanent
protection, and I have everything mulched and
on drip irrigation to
avoid watering headaches. Also, everything is in
raised beds or planted
above grade so none of the plants have to live
in a clay pond during
our cold, wet early springs.

> How you plant your climatis can be
important.
> I have about 30 now, and have followed this
> advice which I read somewhere:
>
> Be sure to dig a big hole, as your plant will
be
> there for a long time (usually).  In my PNW
> garden (acidic) I add mushroom compost and
a
> handful of lime (climatis like lime -- hence
their
> beauty in England) and bone meal to
promote
> root growth.  The main secret that has really
> worked for me is planting the crown or root
ball
> about 6 inches BELOW the soil.  Then if
your
> plant gets the dreaded climatis wilt (a disease
> that will kill them back to the ground) or
> simply gets snapped off by the dog (or cats,
in
> my case) it will almost always come back up.
> Just keep watering it even when nothing
shows.
>  It eventually will.

I've been planting only 2" below the soil line. If
6" won't kill them
it sounds like a good idea in my temperamental
climate.

> I'll offer further personal experience:
>
>  Everything I'd read said they like cool feet
and
> hot heads.  The English say they can take
heat,
> they just need lots of water.  When I have
> planted them in too shady of an area,
assuming
> they'll grow up through the host into the
> sunshine, it has often slowed their growth
> considerably.  A good book will explain
which
> ones like sun/tolerate some shade, etc.

I think most everything grows faster in the
maximum amount of sun it
can tolerate without stress. It seems most of my
plants appreciate the
mulch and drip irrigation.

> You'll love whatever you decide on, I'm sure.

I'm going to try to find the 'Red Cardinal that
Tom has but I'd really
also like to try a couple of the others you
mentioned. Have you tried
growing clematis in 5 gallon containers until
you get a peek at the
bloom? I thought that might be a better
strategy than digging the poor
things out of the ground if the color doesn't
work.

Thanks again for all the information and tips.

---
Peggy Enes (peggy@unicom.net)   Zone 5/6


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