A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 clematis question

hi all,
i planted a cheap-o box (actually 3 of them) of clematis roots from walmart, and the vines are growing and are about 6 inches off the ground. i was wondering if there was a chance that they will flower this year - or will i have to wait till next year? They seem to be doing well, they are just little, and i see other people's flowering already.

I bought a deep red variety and the standard purple/pink/white variety (forgot the names!).

Thanks!

Hi Claire,

I just bought a clematis in a bag from Walmart and plan to plant it tomorrow. I just couldn't resist for $2! From what I've read you probably won't see blooms until next year or the year after. Glad to hear it is growing well.

Joanne

I got a Clematis from a well known nursery, and last fall I thought for sure it was deder than a doornail. When I called this spring wanting to return it I was told to wait and see what happened. Glad I did, it's now about 5 feet tall.

Guess it wasn't dead, huh.

Claire, if you could find out the names of your Clematis then you could get more information about the blooming season and pruning requirements and I've found out this is some very important information to have. Clematis have different bloom times which vary according to the variety. I was once told that there are three groups and generally speaking, Group 1 blooms early in the spring, Group 2 blooms in midseason, and those in Group 3 are late-blooming. I have some that have already finished blooming, but will bloom again late in the summer. Some of my other ones are in full bloom right now.

i know one is a nelly moser, and i think the other is called niobe - i looked up pictures and tried to remember what i bought!

anyways....how big are the vines when they are able to flower? i guess thats the real question, if mine will have enough grow time during the season.
thanks!

Claire, I have the Nelly Moser and it's in Group 2. I think mine bloomed the first year I planted it, but the vines were already about 9-10" when I bought it. There is a picture of mine in Mystery plants on page 3, titled Clematis Help Needed.

I believe Niobe is also in Group 2 and has red flowers. I don't think it gets as tall as the Nelly Moser, but other than that I don't know much about it.

Both will most likely not bloom this year. I have noticed that bare-root clematis usually have minimal blooms the second year and really start to bloom well in the third year if conditions are good. This is true for most perennial vining plants. I have pics at home of both of those I'll post when I can.

i've purchased clematis as second-year plants as well as 'in-the-box', 'in-the-bag' and just this year got one as a bare-root.

the second-year plant bloomed the first year i planted it. the one that was 'in-the-box' grew and bloomed the first year also (i got it early in the season - may - and the weather was just right).

the two that came in the package that were 'in-a-bag' grew a bit the first year (i got them in late june). altho neither did well (the weather wasn't too good) they did grow a bit, no blooms. they came back the following year and darned if i didn't pull them up thinking they were weeds!! as soon as i did it, i realized they were the clematis...woulda kicked myself if i coulda! both came back the next year and darned if i didn't do it again! only one of them that time - caught myself just before i yanked the second one out...the third year only the one that i'd stopped from pulling out came back...didn't do much of anything and i haven't seen it since.

the bare-root one i just planted 2 weeks ago and the weather has been yucky. it had a tiny bit of growth on it and when i planted it, i made sure that the tip of the growth was just barely coverd with soil. it hasn't done anything. it might do something as the weather gets better (it's been chilly) this year, or not. i'd expect it to do something next year as it has a really good root system.

iow, they're pretty hardy as long as the root system is good.

blooming this season will depend most on the particular variety, if you've planted it in the correct spot and the weather as well as just when you plant it.

blooming (and general growth) in future seasons depends greatly on how and when you prune. you really need to know what varieties you have so that you can care for them properly. (and learn from my mistake and MARK the spot where you've planted them so that you don't go pulling them up )

here are two sites that have great info on the care of all the different types of clematis: .org and .com

Great sites!

Here's a pic of a second year nelly and a third year niobe...nelly's pic was not in the greatest light though.

ahh, that niobe is lovely!!

i've got my nelly wrapped around the railing on my front steps too...

wow how pretty! i hope thats what i got:)

Wow, those are some really beautiful pictures, John! I think the Niobe is absolutely stunning!

Hi! I live in the Pacific Northwest and my 2 clematisis bloom late spring. (May/June) As for pruning, I NEVER prune mine. I was told that my variety produces blooms from the dead canes. It looks very dead all winter and then early in the year it begins to green up & next thing you know...buds all over the dead cane. I don't remember what variety it is. I've had it for many years now. I fertilize it about once during the blooming season.

Oh yes, they do get prettier and fuller as they mature. I trim some of mine way back and some just get a light pruning. What color are yours, BB?

Hi, my 2 plants are 2 different shades of ble. One being just a bit darker than the other. They look like the nelly pictured above. If I can figure out how to add a pic, I will! I'm going to miss my clematis...we're selling our home so we've started over at the beach with new plants. And oneof them did bloom this year...it's first year!

I'm so excited, i just got back into town and noticed that all 3 of my little clematis plants have flower buds on them!! yay they will bloom after all

Congratulations! One of my baby clematis has one little bud also and waiting for it to open has been torturous! I hope you post pics when they bloom, I can't seem to get enough of them this year.

Joanne

Hi! My what a busy summer it's been! My clematises are blue and purple. much like the ones pictured above. this year we planted a new burgandy one and a red & white strip. The purple one bloomed a little but not the 2-tone. Hopefully next year will be better.
Hope you're having a great summer!