Trellising Clematis
One of ours and our customer’s favorite flowering plants to grow in the garden is clematis. Clematis is a climbing and flowering plant that is known especially for its ability to grow quickly and also for its longevity as a perennial. The spectacular vibrant blooms of the clematis plant provide a striking contrast to the lush climbing greenery that makes up the bulk of this garden stalwart. These plants are also a popular choice among many gardeners for the ease with which you can grow them, as these plants are especially hardy and will not take much to grow steadily during the summer months.
Location is Everything
One of the first things to do when you begin gardening and are planning on planting, is to discern whether the spot where you want to plant provides the proper soil and sunlight for the chosen specimen. While clematis is a hardy plant, it will certainly do better in some situations then in others. The flowering plant will be at its best in good soil and direct sunlight, this will allow the plant to not only grow more quickly, but will also lead to a larger amount of vibrantly colored blooms. Clematis will also survive in partial sun exposure, however, having a smaller amount of sun during the heat of the day will decrease the number of blooms that the plant will produce, and the colors will likely be of a darker and less spectacular tone.
Sun, Sun, & More Sun
Avoid planting clematis in locations that receive little to no sunlight, as the plants will be unable to thrive under these conditions and will probably not produce flowers, even during the middle of the summer. Because of clematis’ preference for sunny areas in the garden, make sure to plant this plant in the right spot to produce the best and most abundant flowers in your garden. If you are looking to fill an area that is shaded for the entire day you may wish to choose a different plant to add greenery to this area as clematis will not likely be the best option.
Avoid planting clematis in locations that receive little to no sunlight
Supporting the Giant
After you have chosen the right spot in your garden for the clematis you will need to provide the plant with some form of support. Due to their size and desire to grow up and out, your clematis plant will need to have some form of trellising support to make sure that the plant can both grow up and remain healthy. This trellising can take a number of different forms, from traditional trellising, fencing, obelisks, and so many other options. The number one thing to look for in this trellising is that it fits the climbing nature of the plant.
Keep On Growing!
Make sure that the trellis has plenty of places for the clematis plant to grow on, as the vines that are a part of the plant will certainly work to wrap themselves up and around whatever object they are trellised to. Secondly make sure that the trellising that you use for the clematis vines are durable and will stand the test of time. Clematis can become a heavy plant, and it will certainly be in your garden for a number of years, making longevity of your trellis important to the health of the clematis and for the well-being of the gardener who will not want to remove hundreds of vines from a broken trellis every growing season.
Clematis can become a heavy plant, and it will certainly be in your garden for a number of years
Final Planting
To plant the clematis, dig a hole in the chosen spot that is twice the width and several inches deeper than the length of the root ball. Place the clematis plant in the hole and fill the entire hole with dirt, the lower branches of the plant will be covered in the soil. From this point, water the clematis regularly so that it will grow throughout the late spring and summer months, providing your garden with a large amount of beautiful greenery.
Pruning & Maintenance
Make sure that you maintain your clematis by pruning the plant to encourage fuller growth throughout the summer as these plants can grow multiple feet of new foliage each summer. But, be patient with this plant as during the first year, it may not appear to be the large sprawling plant you desire, but after 2-3 years the plant will be fully developed and will reach full size.