Planting And Care Calendar For Clematis

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the previous part. ← Features of clematis, choosing a place for planting, pruning groups

Planting material

Niobe Clematis

Clematis can be planted with annual or biennial rooted cuttings, seedlings obtained by layering or dividing the bush, which have been transferred to their own roots by grafted plants. The seedling must have at least 5 roots at least 10 cm long and 2-3 buds or shoots. The roots should be healthy, without dark spots, constrictions, swelling (nematode infection).

Parts of last year's shoots should have healthy buds, young shoots should not be too long and thin. In any case, they need to be etched in a disinfectant solution ("Maxim", HOM, etc.), it is useful to treat the roots with heteroauxin, root, zircon or microbiological preparations for treating the root system.

If the seedling is too small, the permanent place is not prepared for planting or is not quite suitable for an underdeveloped plant, it is better to first plant clematis in a “school” - in a special place where plants grow and where it is convenient to care for them. After 1-2 years, the seedling will be ready for planting in a permanent place. This is also useful from the point of view of compliance with quarantine measures.

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Planting clematis

In the North-West region, it is better to plant clematis in early spring (late April - May) or early autumn (September).

Clematis has long roots, so the depth of the hole is more important than the diameter. An ordinary pit: depth - 60-70 cm, diameter - 50-60 cm. Soil - a mixture of garden soil, humus, peat, sand (on heavy soils). It should be rich in humus, moisture-absorbing, breathable, and have a reaction close to neutral. Lime or dolomite (1-2 glasses), superphosphate (1-2 tablespoons), complete mineral fertilizer (1-2 tablespoons) are added to the pit. In the lower part of the pit, you can put semi-rotten manure or compost. Manure and humus should always be mixed with superphosphate, and peat with lime materials. Ash is a good fertilizer for clematis.

Unlike other plants, clematis can almost never be planted without destroying the earthy coma, which is in the container when you buy a seedling. Their roots are usually quite long, often they are specially bent when planted in a container, which is unacceptable when planting in the ground. For clematis, it is much more important to check the quality of the roots, and then distribute them correctly in the pit when planting, than to try not to break the lump. Roots that are too long or roots with dry tips should be pruned. It is best to cover any wounds with brilliant green.

An important feature of clematis planting is the need to deepen them. In order to properly spread the roots and not be mistaken with the depth, it is convenient to make a mound at the bottom of a partially filled hole, squeeze it tightly. The depth of the center of tillering for a young plant is about 10 cm, taking into account the subsidence of the soil, the top of the mound should be at a depth of 5 cm. You can check the depth using a planting board.

First, you need to pour water into the pit, place the seedling on a mound and distribute the roots, carefully cover the roots with soil, and the place of the neck with coarse sand, compact the soil. It is impossible to immediately deeply deepen not germinated buds and tender young shoots. It is better to add soil when the plant takes root and the shoots begin to lignify.

A small mound of sand at the base of the bush will prevent water from stagnating in the area of the center of tillering, will protect the most vulnerable place from damping out, infection with diseases. After planting, the plant needs to be watered, and when the water is absorbed, mulch to protect the soil from drying out, shade the plant for 1-2 weeks.

If the seedlings have long, weak shoots, they should be pinched to improve tillering. In the first year, on small seedlings, you need to pinch all young shoots at a height of 20-30 cm and not let them bloom. The main work in the first summer is watering and controlling weeds, which can destroy immature plants.

Clematis care calendar

Clematis varieties Luther Burbank (lilac) and John Paul

Spring. After the snow has melted from the plants covered with polyethylene, it must be removed. There is no need to rush to open plants covered with lutrasil and other similar fabrics. In May, when the ground is completely thawed, you need to remove the rest of the shelter.

If clematis has wintered shoots, it is necessary to remove the shelter gradually in cloudy weather, so that the buds that have begun to germinate do not dry out, do not burn in the sun. Hilled plants need to be undone in order to facilitate the germination of new shoots.

At this time, it is useful to water clematis with milk of lime, chalk, ash to reduce acidity and fertilize with calcium. A good early fertilizer is calcium nitrate (solution), which supplies the plants with calcium and nitrogen. Clematis begins to germinate at a temperature of + 5 ° C, but active growth begins only at a temperature of 10 ° C.

At this time, clematis grow very quickly, they need all the nutrients for growth. During May and early June, they can be fertilized with dry mineral fertilizers on damp ground or combined with fertilization with irrigation, as well as watered with solutions of organic and mineral fertilizers.

An important technique in the spring is the shedding of the base of the bushes with microbiological preparations against root rot and wilting (see for more details the section "Fight against diseases and pests").

Particular attention should be paid to the clematis garter to the supports. The presence of stationary supports greatly simplifies the task: arches, screens, pergolas, gratings, etc. In some cases, it is necessary to install supports annually. You need to attach young shoots to the supports on time, until they reach a height of 40-50 cm. If you are late with the garter, clematis begin to curl with each other, grow in the wrong direction.

After that, it becomes very difficult to tie them, the shoots break, it becomes difficult to distribute the shoots along the support. Overwintered shoots must be lifted onto supports immediately after opening and tied before the lateral branches begin to grow, so as not to damage them and give the correct direction. In the first stages of growth, shoots have to be tied to almost all supports, to direct them in the right direction, to distribute along the support. Subsequently, clematis themselves cling to the supports and rise up. But even during the summer they have to be corrected, sometimes tied up to achieve better decorative effect.

Clematis. Sort Saw

Summer. The main summer concerns are watering, fertilizing, weeding, and disease and pest control.

Watering should not be too frequent, but abundant enough to wet the soil to the depth of the roots. Typically, a medium plant needs at least 1-2 buckets of water. In hot dry weather, you have to water the clematis every week. It is equally important to ensure that in a rainy summer, water does not stagnate at the base of clematis, water does not drip onto the plant from the roof.

When watering, you should not flood the center of the bush and greatly moisten the leaves, as this contributes to the spread of diseases. After watering, when the water is absorbed and the surface dries slightly, the earth must be loosened. It is very useful to mulch the ground around the plant with humus, and on top with peat. This will reduce the need for watering and loosening and provide the plant with the necessary nutrition.

Clematis refers to crops that take out a large amount of nutrients from the soil, which are necessary for the annual almost complete renewal of a large vegetative mass and abundant flowering. In addition to high-quality filling of the pit during planting, plant feeding is required, starting from 2-3 years after planting.

Clematis requires all the nutrients, both macro and micronutrient fertilizers. The maximum amount of nitrogen is consumed during the period of rapid spring growth, but the growth of clematis continues in summer (June - July). And during the period of growth and budding, they need to be fertilized 2-4 times with full mineral or organic fertilizer. These fertilizers should also include trace elements. Fertilization patterns vary.

You can alternate organic and mineral liquid dressings, you can limit yourself to mineral dressings when mulching clematis with humus, you can use dry fertilizers, combining them with watering. Foliar dressing is also useful, especially if there is a suspicion of a shortage of any nutrients. It is better to stop feeding during flowering.

In clematis that bloom twice on last year's shoots and young ones, after the first flowering, you need to cut out the faded parts of the shoots in order to remove the resulting fruits and enhance the second flowering.

Fall. If clematis were sufficiently fertilized in the first half of summer, especially with the use of dry dressings that retain their effect for a long time, in the second half of summer and early autumn, top dressing can be stopped. Nitrogen at this time can delay vegetation and worsen wintering. You can give top dressing with potassium and phosphorus, sometimes it is advised to feed clematis with superphosphate in late autumn, before sheltering, since phosphorus is little washed out of the soil and will be used next summer.

In autumn, many varieties of clematis bloom before the onset of severe frosts. Slight frosts, which occur in September and even sometimes in August, do not harm clematis. The timing of the shelter of clematis is not critical, but by the end of October - the beginning of November it is better to cover them, even if they are not frozen yet. In colder weather, cover earlier.

Read the next part. Classification and varieties of clematis, shelter for the winter →

Tatyana Popova, gardener

Photo by Vladimir Popov