The Simple Guide To Planting Clematis
You just purchased your first clematis and now you are wondering how to plant your clematis, you remember something about "plant it deeper" but can't quite remember what the man at the garden centre said.
In this article we are going to explain how you should plant your clematis in detail so you get the most out of your new clematis.
Step 1 - First soak the root ball of the clematis in water for around 15 minutes Step 2 - Then you need to dig a hole about 15" deep by about 15" wide, this should be about right for a 2 litre pot but simply make the hole a little larger or smaller depending on your pot size as some clematis are sold in larger or smaller pots.
Next you need to break up the soil at the bottom of the hole and add some good quality compost along with a small handful of bone meal which encourages root growth.
Step 3 - Clematis need to be planted deeper so that the top of the root ball is about 5" under the ground.
You may need to remove some leaves from the first 5" of the stem to make sure its just bare stem and not foliage.
Once the clematis is in the prepared hole you can back-fill with some good quality compost and top soil.
Step 4 - Now you need to apply a top dressing around the clematis with a good quality fertiliser such as osmocote.
Step 5 - Now simply water in and remove any damaged stems you may have caused during planting.
For best results clematis should be fed twice a week with a good quality feed until just before buds open and after flowers have finished until late summer.
Tomato feed is ideal for feeding clematis as it is high in potash which encourages flowering and is available at reasonable prices from local garden centres and nurseries.
Once planted pruning may be needed so please find below a small guide to pruning your clematis With hundreds of Clematis plants available in a range of colours and sizes knowing how to prune your clematis can be a bit of a mind field.
First you need to know what group your clematis comes into, there are 3 groups.
Group 1 require no pruning, group 2 is optional but can be pruned back about half way and group 3 needs to be pruned back hard.
To find out which group your clematis are in many growers and retailers of clematis provide this information but if not a simple search on Google of the clematis name should provide the answer.
There's a little saying to give you a start which is "if it flowers before June, do not prune" this saying actually refers to group 1 clematis.
In this article we are going to explain how you should plant your clematis in detail so you get the most out of your new clematis.
Step 1 - First soak the root ball of the clematis in water for around 15 minutes Step 2 - Then you need to dig a hole about 15" deep by about 15" wide, this should be about right for a 2 litre pot but simply make the hole a little larger or smaller depending on your pot size as some clematis are sold in larger or smaller pots.
Next you need to break up the soil at the bottom of the hole and add some good quality compost along with a small handful of bone meal which encourages root growth.
Step 3 - Clematis need to be planted deeper so that the top of the root ball is about 5" under the ground.
You may need to remove some leaves from the first 5" of the stem to make sure its just bare stem and not foliage.
Once the clematis is in the prepared hole you can back-fill with some good quality compost and top soil.
Step 4 - Now you need to apply a top dressing around the clematis with a good quality fertiliser such as osmocote.
Step 5 - Now simply water in and remove any damaged stems you may have caused during planting.
For best results clematis should be fed twice a week with a good quality feed until just before buds open and after flowers have finished until late summer.
Tomato feed is ideal for feeding clematis as it is high in potash which encourages flowering and is available at reasonable prices from local garden centres and nurseries.
Once planted pruning may be needed so please find below a small guide to pruning your clematis With hundreds of Clematis plants available in a range of colours and sizes knowing how to prune your clematis can be a bit of a mind field.
First you need to know what group your clematis comes into, there are 3 groups.
Group 1 require no pruning, group 2 is optional but can be pruned back about half way and group 3 needs to be pruned back hard.
To find out which group your clematis are in many growers and retailers of clematis provide this information but if not a simple search on Google of the clematis name should provide the answer.
There's a little saying to give you a start which is "if it flowers before June, do not prune" this saying actually refers to group 1 clematis.
