Dan West Garden Center

May 2009 Newsletter©

Clematis

In the Memphis area, this should probably be called the “mailbox vine”.  That’s where you most often see them planted, but they can be used many other ways.  I like to plant them with evergreen vines so they grow up together.  You have foliage year-round and spectacular flowers. 

I also like to have them climb into tall shrubs.  I have a large white flowered variety blooming right now in a tall pomegranate that is blooms orange about the same time.   Planted with it are a red and a blue variety that bloom later.

Think for a minute about how vines grow.  From seed, they come up in the shade of other plants.  Then they grow up through the plants for support and then canopy out in full sun across the top of the plant.  Try to duplicate this when you plant.  The root zone should be shaded and cool and the stem protected from the sun.  So plant something at the base of the vine to help recreate these conditions.  The top of the plant should have a minimum of 6 hours of sun.

Clematis like a neutral, to just slightly acidic soil.  Your pH should be 6.5 to 7 so you may need to add a little lime every other year or so.  Fertilize them in early April and again in early June.

Some clematis bloom on new wood, some on old wood, some on both, so pruning time varies by variety.  Your new clematis should be pruned back to 8-10” after the first year, but after that, there is no need to prune at all and I normally don’t, except to remove damaged or dead wood which can be done at anytime.  Always prune with caution.  Clematis stems are very thin and easily damaged.

When planting clematis, dig a very large hole and loosen the soil.  Add no more than 1/3 organic matter to 2/3 of your existing soil.  Don’t over-improve the soil, but your hole should be 15-18” deep and wide.  This may well be the only exception to “plant high”.  A young clematis should be planted deep, with 2-4” of the stem underground.  Container plants are already planted “deep”, so plant them at or just below soil level.

The main problem faced with clematis here is leaf and stem spot, also called clematis wilt.  It is a fungal disease that attacks the stem causing all growth above the infection point to die.  It seldom kills a plant, so don’t yank yours up, if it suddenly turns brown.  It will usually re-sprout.  The disease winters in the soil and in plant tissue, so a dormant application of lime sulfur is recommended, especially if you’ve had the problem prior.  The disease usually enters through a wound, so be careful weeding around the plant, control slugs and insects and do not let mulch touch the stems.  Remove and destroy infected tissue (do not compost) if it starts in-season and spray with Ferti-lome Systemic Fungicide. 

There are thousands of clematis cultivars and species.  Here are some of our favorites.  I’d like to thank Donahue’s Clematis in Minnesota for most of the pictures below.  They supply us with quality clematis and no one grows them better.

Bee’s Jubilee  -  Light pink with a deep red center bar and blooms in May, June and August.  Flowers are 7-8” wide, it grows 10-14’ tall.

Dr. Ruppel  -  Deep red center bar with a very thin ruffled pink edge.  Flowers are 7-8” wide, it grows to 12’ tall blooms in May, June and September.

Belle of Woking  -  Fully double, 4-6”, light blue flower.  Grows to 6’ tall and blooms in May, June and September.

Cardinal Wyszynski  -  Very vigorous and heavy flower producer.  Crimson 6” flowers from July through September.  Grows to 10’ tall.

Clair de lune  -  (aka Blue Moon)  -  Very pale lilac flower, nearly white, with the wavy edge slightly darker.  Flowers are 5-6” wide, blooms May through August and grows to 10’ tall.

Earnest Markham  -  Very robust grower with magenta red 5-6” flowers.   Blooms July through September and can grow to 15’ tall. 

Guernsey Cream  -  Large 7” creamy white flowers in June and August.  Grows to 10’ tall.

Daniel Deronda  -  Deep purple flowers with a lighter center.  Huge 8” flowers in June and September, grows to 8’ tall.

Hagley Hybrid  -  Rich pink 6” flower with ruffled edges.  Very vigorous and a prolific bloomer.   Blooms June and September, grows to 8’ tall.

Henryi  -  Pure white 6” flowers.  Blooms June and September and can get 20’ tall.

Jackmanii Superba  - Velvet purple 6” flowers.  Blooms July through September.  Grows to 8’ tall.

Killian Donahue  - Light orchid flower with a center bar that starts red and matures to fuchsia.  Produces abundant 5” flowers from June through September.  Grows to 10’ tall.

Kingfisher  -  Intense, deep blue 7” flowers from July to September.  Grows to 8’ tall.

Mrs. George Jackman  -  Large, rounded, creamy white flowers.  Flowers are 6” wide and blooms June and July, to 8’ tall.

Perle D’Azur  -  True blue 4” flowers.  Very heavy flower production. Blooms July and August and grows to 12’ tall.

Multi-Blue  -  Very double, dark blue to purple 5” flowers.  Blooms June and September.  Grows to 8’ tall.

Niobe  -  Very dark, ruby red, 8” flowers.  Blooms June and August through September, to 12’ tall.

Ramona  -  Lavender-blue flowers with a slightly darker center bar. Vigorous grower to 16’ tall.  Produces 8” flowers from July through September.

Rhapsody  -  Sapphire blue that deepens with age.  Heavy flower production from July through September.  Flowers are 4-5” wide and it grows to 8’ tall.

Ruby Glow  -  Ruby rose petals with a deeper red center. Produces 7” flowers from June through August.  One of the most prolific bloomers.  Grows to 9’ tall.

Silver Moon  -  Unusual mauve 8” flowers.  This one will flower in significant shade.  Blooms May, Jane and August, grows to 9’ tall.

Vino  -  Vigorous but compact plant to 8’ tall.  Very heavy flower producer.  Petunia red 7” flowers in May, June and August. 

Will Goodman  -  Probably the best blue.  Flowers are 8” wide and produced from June through September.  Plant grows to 12’ tall.

The last one is Clematis armandii, the evergreen clematis.  Glossy, 6” long, narrow, evergreen leaves and abundant fragrant white flowers are produced in the spring.  Vigorous climber to 20’ tall.

On other things…

I had a customer recently asking about how to control weeds and grass in an asparagus bed.  Use rock salt.  That’s right, salt.   Use 2 lbs. per square yard.  Asparagus is very tolerant of salt at levels that will kill most other plants.

Last month I touched on a different approach to supporting tomatoes.  I had a customer in this week that built a 22’ long “tomato table”.  He’s going to keep me posted on his results and I’d like to here from anyone else who built one.

No one correctly guessed my favorite tomato.  It’s Ramapo.   Rutgers University produced Ramapo tomato seed for years.  Eventually they stopped production and it disappeared from the market.  They still had the seed for the parent plants, so last year, by popular demand, they grew the parent plants and produced a new crop of seed.  We’ve contacted a grower who has applied for the seed and we hope to have a small crop of plants available in late May.  Next year, we’ll have plenty.  Ramapo has a very high acid and sugar content.  It is, by far, the best mater you’ll ever eat.

Here’s this month’s contest.  Three flowers…name them.

The contest ends on May 15^th.  Drop by either store to enter or you can email your entry to questions@danwestonline.com.  One winner, selected from all correct entries, will receive a $25 Dan West Gift Certificate.

Thanks for shopping with us at Dan West.