A bit of an update; spring is springing all over my garden and two clematises that I previously thought were toasted, have new growth!
C.'Helios' (group 3) is a clemmie that I initially had planted at the base of the closest Black Walnut to the house. I moved it in the late summer to the other side of the yard, and it just slowly died back and so I erroneously thought it had succumbed. Wrong!! New growth spotted this aftrnoon.
The next is C. 'Huldine' (group 3), which is planted about 20 feet from the same BW tree along the fence. It grew a okay last year but didn't flower, and died back fairly early in the fall. I spotted that telltale clematis-like new growth pushing up out of the ground this afternoon.
C. 'Allanah' (group 2) - ah, this one I'd listed as having made it because it grew really well last year, although didn't flower and was one of the last in the garden to die back. I'm seeing no new growth whatsoever on this one. It's planted about 10 feet from the BW tree, but up a little hill. I'm not giving up on this one yet, because its flowers are supposed to be really awesome-6-8" wide; perhaps its just a late starter. In my old house I had a sweet autumn clematis planted on the north side of the house, and it wouldn't push up out of the ground until the 1st week of June.
So, perhaps I'm down to two true clematis deaths due directly to BW trees - C. Nelly Moser and C. Dutchess of Albany.
Perhaps if I had left C. Helios planted at the base of the BW tree, it would have died; I'd like to think I saved it by moving it. It sure did zero growth-wise when it was planted there, it was very vigorous and lush when I got it, and it just lost vine after vine.
Time to start dinner. If anyone else want to share their experience with these trees, please feel free to chime in!!
