[grace.maddie]

Originally Posted by lhart24

I know you all have been on the edge of your seat all afternoon waiting for these pics.. LOL

Ok... so now some really dumb questions... I have never really had a garden (my parents have one now... but didnt have one most of the time growing up)... sooo do I need to fertilize these?? If so what kind... and how often to water them?? I have been watering them daily but want to make sure that isnt too much or not enough.. havent put fertilizer on them at all

oh, those are horrible ugly plants! you should dig them up asap and mail them to my house and i will "dispose" of them for you .

i wish i had some of those, i am greatful to whoever said you could bury the trendills and they might make a start, i am going to try that, my naighbor has some beautiful periwinkle ones, i have had my eye on for a while now. we just couldn't figure outhow to take a start.

[QBMOM]

Clematis love ALUM powder as fertilizer. Sprinkle it around the base of the plant once a month or so.

[Susuz]

They like light mulch on the roots (like pine needles) to keep them cool, and the miracle grow advice is good. The seed pods are great for the birds in the winter. You can lightly prune after blooming. I have also seen them at Sams and at Lowes, maybe not the exact same variety. I like Lowes because they guarantee their plants for one year, keep your receipt. If it dies they will refund your $$.

[Sally]

What you have is the( Jackamin) Clematis, not spelled correct but this is the way you pronounce it. They love a lime soil, so add lime in the early March, also cut this variety back each year, it grows on all new vine.

If you had cut them back it woud not have mattered. They are very in-expensive to plant. I find that planting two together will bring forth a much bigger and bushy plant.

Enjoy them, I know I do mine.

Sally

[irismania]

They are beautiful for sure. I don't think they are Jackamania Clematis though, it has a much darker shade of purple. There are about 300 hundred varieties of clematis, with the Jackamania being one of the most popular varieties. You may never be able to find out exactly which one you have, but they are for sure Clematis, no doubt about it. If you read up on them, there are some that prefer to be pruned back every year and grown all new wood, while there are others that do not like to be pruned and form new shoots on the previous years growth. When you fertilize them you might think about using a bloom boosting fertilizer which will increase the number of blooms, it works really well.
I know when I was in school for Horticulture that we were taught that clematis like their roots to be cool. So make sure to keep them well mulched, most prefer full sun. There are a few varieties that will take shade. As far as multiplying them, I was taught that the seeds that form are not very reliable. That it is better to do a stem section, but do not cut the stem off the plant, use a pot that you can sit on the ground close to the main plant, then by slightly notching the stem, inserting a toothpick to hold it open, dust with hormone rooting powder, and insert into fresh potting soil, it will still get water and nutrients from the main plant until it forms roots on it's on, at which time you can then detach it and plant elsewhere. Depending on where it is located in your yard, full sun, part sun, shade, would help to determine how frequently you water. Since the pot is above ground it will dry out so much quicker during the day. I myself use water crystals in my plants that are in pots. They are great, first you prepare them by putting them into a container and adding water, they swell up with the water, then add them to your soil. As the water in the soil dries out they shrink in size, then when you water again they swell back up, providing the plant with constant water as the roots seek out the water in the crystals. You can use them in the ground also, the bottle says they can last up to ten years in ground soil. I got my bottle at Lowe's several years ago for about ten dollars and it just takes a small amount to make a huge amount once they absorbed water.

[lhart24]

Ok so I FINALLY found some at menards... so much easier when I can actually ASK for what I need.. LOL.. anyway the selection was kind of poor and a lot of them looked to be kind of sickly. I dont know alot about gardening, but some really didnt look to be worth the money.... alot of them were twisted together.. or had been uprooted from people picking them up by the lattice panel piece on each pot... So I think I will check lowes.. though I may try and grow my own...

Thanks for all your help.. NJMOM you win the RAOK!!!

[Sally]

I have to thank you djcullen, your picture of all the clematis helped us to locate one we have been trying to find the name of all Spring. It is the Montana Fragrant Spring. We have one and I had lost the name tag and we wanted to buy another one, they are so beautiful.

Thank you so much for the listing.

Sally

[SoccerMama]

I finally got around to taking a picture.

Summer2008 004.jpg

[lhart24]

those are some beautiful flowers...

I fertilized mine last night... and they seem to have taken off a bit more.... They look really nice.. hehe... Havent killed them yet..

On average do they keep blooms for about 2 months??

[SoccerMama]

Ya know, I'm not absolutely sure but that sounds about right. Maybe even 3 months. Mine have been going strong for over a month now.

Keep using the miracle grow once a week and they will get real thick.

[lhart24]

ok.. so i fertilized and have been watering a bit more regularly.. who would have thought that is all it takes for them to grow like crazy.. i thought I had a big "bush" of them before.. it is huge now... oh my..

I also got some growing gel .. .you break off a piece and try to grow your own.. I wanted to put more around the yard.. and figured I would give this a try... just started it tonight.. haha.. i will let you know how bad i fail ...

so now my next of my lovely questions.. how/when do you prune them.. do you do it after they "die" for the year?? or after the first bloom seems to have passed??