Yaku Nursery
  Clematis listings About us Gallery Advice Frequently asked questions and links Order now  
 
ADVICE

We all need some expert help sometimes, so we've collected useful information here. Click on the topic button for what you want help with:

extra tips

  • JAN
  • FEB
  • MAR
  • APR
  • MAY
  • JUN
  • JUL
  • AUG
  • SEP
  • OCT
  • NOV
  • DEC

JANUARY:

Groom plants that have finished flowering and remove seed heads. Feed with Nitrophoska, mulch and water well and they will be back flowering in 6-8 weeks.If Clematis is allowed to dry out they will go into temporary dormancy!

FEBRUARY:

The montanas will probably need a little guidance to help them covering what you want them to cover. Grooming and feeding continues. Pruning has to come to a halt in order to let the plants ripen their wood before the winter. In the warmer areas probably late February - in Taranaki until mid February. Continue watering and keep mulched.

MARCH:

Continue watering and keep mulched. Enjoy.

APRIL:

Enjoy the autumn flowering, keep watered and remember the size of the flowers is a reflection of how well watered and fed the plants are. Keep in mind that too much nutrients under the blossom will shorten the period.

MAY:

Do not start pruning your Clematis yet!

This can be quite tempting now when the Clematis start looking tatty, but leave it. If you prune now, the plant will start sending new shoots and they will be damaged during the winter. C. cirrhosa varieties have started their flowering season.

JUNE:

C. cirrhosa varieties are in flower. Leave your Clematis unpruned. This is a good time to go to the local library to check out the many Clematis books (see references for my choices).

JULY:

This month you can prune the viticella group back hard, but be sure there are buds below pruning point. I know of a few people that live in a cold climate that are using their spades to chop their Clematis off at ground level when the ground is frozen solid.

AUGUST:

In the milder areas you can start pruning from the middle of this month. Start pruning all the large flowering hybrids as well as "the only" summer flowering species and hybrids. This means leave Group A untouched and groom Group B so the thin and dead stems are cut off, stem fanned out so they will cover the designated area. JUST BE CAREFUL - any bruised stem must be cut off to avoid wilt.

Group C to be pruned back hard, if not already done. If you cut your hedge now, you can plant viticellas to clamber and beautify your hedge during the summer. Always burn prunings from Clematis!

Mulching with good leafy compost, feeding with a good all round fertilizer (blood & bone). Be sure to supply some potash this deepens the colours, and hardens the leaf and stem to better resist fungal attack.

Last but not least some snail bait to keep those buggers of the new shoots (they like them as I like asparagus).

By the way the Russians are said to eat the new shoot of Clematis macropetala boiled (raw they are very hot, I reckon!)

SEPTEMBER:

In the coldest districts, the pruning time is from the middle of this month. In general Clematis and roses are pruned at the same time (see August). If lightly pruned we will have our first large hybrids in flower in the middle of the month, and the C. armandii's start flowering.

OCTOBER:

This is the main start of the spring flowering hybrids. If unpruned or lightly pruned they will start early this month. If hard pruned, then late - a hard prune delays blooming approx. 4 weeks. Train the new shoot sideways (hybrids) and keep up with the snail bait.

NOVEMBER:

Spray against mildew if you encountered problems last season. Keep an eye out for wilt.

If wilting, don't hesitate: cut back below attack point, it will soon be back again. Drenching with Benlate is helpful, but it is not an vaccination against wilt. Joy joy enjoy.

Always burn prunings from Clematis!

DECEMBER:

This month is the start of the summer flowering Clematis and the end of the spring flowering hybrids' first flush or maybe it is the middle or start of a second flush on the earliest hybrids (approx. 8 weeks from pruning to flowering). The viticellas are a delight; clambering over roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, conifers in the hedges, and over smaller trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  copyright Yaku Nursery 2011 terms and conditions privacy policy