I am new to this thread and to clematis. I've been wanting to add clematis to my garden for a long time, but have a lot of concerns.
I garden in terrible soil which we call "glacier slurry" comprised of tightly compressed rocks and clay and silt between them. I do have perfect drainage ...
Up here and have found that I don't dare plant anything unless it has a large root mass ... at least a 3 gal nursery can. I never put any compost or manures in my planting holes ... learned that the hard way ... because when they decompose, the plants sink significantly. I back fill with the native soil with the rocks included after I've grown the plant up to have the larger root mass and put all amendments on top. It's worked well for roses and other plants, but I am not sure if it will work for clematis. Do you think this is the best way to give a clematis a good start ?
I am not sure about what is meant about "keeping the roots cool". I do mulch regularly. Is that sufficient ?
I have little or no shade in the gardening area. According the American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia, clematis can grow well in heat zone 8. Technically, I live in heat zone 8, but I live in the mountains and the light and heat are different at higher elevations. I am wondering if it will be just too hot for clematis. Our summer day temps are in the 90s and low 100s for months. Because of the heat, it is a challenge to keep plants moist in containers.
I do have the right size foam-type containers and a lot of larger nursery cans, but am concerned about over wintering the plant(s) because during the winter months, when we are not in drought, we get very heavy rains and some snow. Night temps can drop to single digits. To me, having everything planted in the ground is safer for plants because the soil never freezes. In a container, soil can freeze. There is no place to move any container to a more protected site for the winter months.
It sounds like I need to order the plants for spring, carry them through the summer and plant them out in fall. Am I correct ? Do clematis need to be potted up gradually to build the root mass ?
I know ... a lot of questions, but I do hope I can find a way to add clematis to this garden.
Smiles,
Lyn
