Clematis has a special place at my dacha - he is the first to meet me, guests at the gate. It has delicate leaves, long stems, flowers of extraordinary beauty. What questions tormented me the first time when clematis appeared on my site? Landing and leaving - how not to make mistakes? When to prune? Are top dressings necessary? How to make it bloom as long as possible? I will try to answer everything.
Clematis has about three hundred species, found on all continents of the globe with the exception of the Arctic, Antarctica. A variety of life forms contributes to this proliferation.
What are the features of clematis?
Compared to other woody plants, clematis has two features: abundant, bloom for a long time, annually renew almost the entire ground mass - shoots, leaves.
Are these vineyards demanding on the soil? We can say that not very. However, clematis grows better on soils rich in humus, fertile, loose, sandy loam or loamy. Groundwater level should not exceed 1.5 meters. It grows better on slightly acidic soils.
What to do if the soil is acidic? Add lime or chalk - 150-250 g per 1 square. m
Clematis pruning. Pruning is an important element in the life of a vine. If the shoot is long, then it is cut off by a third before planting, if short - pinch. The second time the seedling is cut off about half in the summer, and the third time in the fall - until the first true leaf. This will promote strong growth, like shoots, also of roots.
Clematis planting
A pit should be prepared with a width-depth of 70 cm. Half a bucket of humus or compost should be poured onto the bottom of the pit. Mix the rest of the excavated soil with humus (15-20 kg), add 200 g of superphosphate, the same amount of complex mineral fertilizer. Such a thorough dressing is understandable, because clematis is a long-liver, it will grow in one place for 20-30 years. In some places, up to 80 years is mentioned.
What should be the planting material? Liana propagated by cuttings, layering, grafting. For a seedling, the most important state of the root system is the number of developed vegetative buds. The seedling should have at least 5 well-developed roots, their total length should be about 50 cm. When planting, it is important not to bury the seedling so that the bud or sprout is at ground level.
Where do I need to take a place for landing clematis? For a plant, not only direct sunlight is important, but also reflected. Therefore, it is preferable to plant it near light walls or paths. For better illumination of plants, trellises are recommended to be placed from east to west with a deviation angle to the northeast. For growth, wind is of no small importance. Therefore, it is unacceptable to use rope supports.
How does a plant tolerate fluctuations in air temperature? The roots need cool, moist soil, and the leaves and flowers need the sun. A temperature above 45 degrees is disastrous for them. In the southern regions of our country, you need to ensure that the plant does not overheat in the hot summer. Personally, my vine grows in partial shade.
Are clematis necessary for top dressing? Mandatory, because the plant annually renews the aboveground part, it consumes a large amount of nutrients. They are replenished with a sufficient amount of fertilizer: for 1 bush - 2 liters of slurry, 1 liter of bird droppings solution or 15 g of mineral fertilizers.
What to do if clematis is bad or does not bloom at all
If your clematis with good care, regular top dressing over the age of 3 years, practically does not bloom or there are very few flowers, then transplant it. When planting, do not forget to add 1-2 buckets of humus, half a glass of superphosphate. The landing pit should be large, deep - 70 × 70 × 70 cm. Plants feel good if there are plants near their roots (but not closer than a meter from them) that would obscure their roots, for example, peonies can be planted on the south side.
Is it possible to “make” clematis bloom all summer until autumn without a break? Can. In the spring, when the buds begin to bloom, I do the pruning as follows: I cut off some shoots by 50 cm, others by 1 meter from the ground. Cutting down several shoots even higher, leaving them 1.2-1.5 m long or even longer. I leave part of the shoots uncut - they bloom before all. Then the cut shoots bloom above all, followed by those below. By autumn, lateral shoots grow on very low cut shoots - they bloom in the fall.
How often should be watered? In summer, you need to water at least once a week, but abundantly, and loosen or mulch the soil.
How does clematis propagate?
Creepers are bred by dividing the bush, layering, cuttings, seeds (but this is quite difficult). The easiest way is to divide the bush or layering.
A perennial bush is dug up, carefully divided (cut) so that each divide has one or two buds. The roots can be dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate or powdered with crushed coal. You can hold for some time (while preparing a new place) in a solution of root or heteroauxin.
Breeding clematis by layering is also simple. From the bush, a groove is dug left-right or in a circle around the bush, into which humus, sand or compost is added. One lash is put in the groove, completely covered with earth, but the top of the clematis lash should be on top of the ground. Then the groove, or rather the place where the lay is watered, is mulched.
After two years, clematis layers can be dug up, starting from the free-lying apex. By this time, the roots are well developed, suitable for transplanting.
Photo clematis
In conclusion - a photo of various varieties of clematis. These are not my plants, I just filmed this miracle wherever I saw it.