I have a few clematis plants that I bought from Walmart and Costco. I didn't expect any of them to actually grow but they are! I plan to grow them in containers to prevent the condo landscapers from killing them. I do wonder if I can drastically prune them back each year, what size pot they need and what would be a good "support" for them?

2 Red Cardinal
2 Miss Bateman
1 Nelly Mosier
1 Venosa Violacea

Both Miss Bateman are growing great. One Red Cardinal is growing great and the other is just getting started. Nelly is starting to grow well and the last one is too new to know if it'll actually grow.

I am pretty new to Clems myself. But I do know that they are classified into Group 1, 2, or 3 - and are pruned according to their group. I would look them all up, and see what group they belong in, and prune accordingly.

I have one Clem, called Barbara Harrington that is a group 3, and I pruned it early this spring ~Jan

You can grow them in a small container (1- or 2-gallon) the first year and then grow them in a 5-gallon for a couple of years, but when they start growing like gangbusters, you'll need very large containers for those -- 10-gallon containers at least.

All of yours are large-flowered clematises in groups 2 and 3. Look them up in the database and you'll see the group and the pruning instructions. Miss Bateman and Nelly Moser are group 2, and Rouge Cardinal and Venosa Violacea are group 3, I believe.

I would find some obelisks for the pots, Do you have access to a fence or wall for the clems to grow up on?

Oh, right. Support. I forgot to address that part of the question. Thanks, Anna. Obelisks are a geat idea, Or you can have them climb into taller plants or shrubs. I plant most of mine next to climbing roses.

Would a deck railing be acceptable? If not I can find a couple good Obelisks for them.

I browsed through the Plant Database on them. I didn't realize it was so thorough! I need to put them in different pots and maybe donate the "duplicate" plants. I am disappointed that the Red Cardinal and Miss Bateman look nothing like the picture on the package. The package shows a Red bloom and a stark white bloom with a red center.

A deck railing would be nice too. Depending on the size of the pots, you can double up the clems.

Oh, we're all disappointed that clematises look nothing like the pictures on some packages, I'm sure.

A deck railing is good, but you'll have to help the clematis climb it. Its tendrils will wind around small things, like the canes of other plants or the wire on a chicken-wire structure, but they aren't long enough to wind around the larger elements of a deck railing. I twine my vines in and out of the lattice on my deck railing and I sometimes use pieces of velcro tape to hold them in place.

Yes, they sometimes like to grow in a direction that you hadn't planned on!

I will have to plan this out and check with my Dad to see if using the deck railing would be against the rules. I did notice they got in some beautiful obelisks at a local store and I can ask the nursery what they have when I go next month.

I have to figure out support for these, lonicera and a trumpet vine. Busy busy bee lol

Can anyone recommend an obelisk that have purchased online?

Mine were bought on line so many years ago that the companies either don't carry them anymore or don't exist anymore. Recently I've been buying them at local nurseries and Costco.

Thanks zuzu. I don't have much free time to look at nurseries and am really hoping to find a long lasting one for a clematis. The 1 I bought last year already has the finish coming off. Maybe I need to look at cedar ones.

I got mine at BestNest. I have the first one on the page (actually 3 of them) and really like them, although they're not cheap. http://www.bestnest.com/bestne...

Nice variety!