Is it unusual for a clematis to have markings on the underside of its sepals? Our Huldine clematis has three purple lines on the underside of its sepals.

I don't have that one Susan, but it looks like a beaut. And yes, I do seem to remember some of them having defined ribs on the backs, but not with as much a color contrast as that. Maybe Nicola or Terry have Huldine - it wasn't listed in my clem books. Maybe it is a very newish cross?

Clematis ‘Huldine’ is in my clematis book described as White, 8cm open flowers, strong growing cultivar. Suitable as a cut flower. Flowering months July-September. Height 5-6m. Pruning group 3. There is not a picture I’m afraid and I do not have it myself so can’t help any further.

My Huldine has the same stripes.

This is the first year that it has flowered well for me, are you too, Susan, finding that the flowers last a very long time, mine have been on about two weeks and are still not fading.

Yes, the blooms of our Huldine have lasted very well. How much do you fertilize your clematis? A couple of weeks ago I read in the newspaper that clematis should be fertilized once a month like roses. Ours are doing quite well with one shot of fertilizer in the spring.

Thanks for the info, Nicola. We'll try cutting some blooms next year. Using clematis as a cut flower just didn't occur to me.

I have nothing to add to this thread, but your pics certainly are pretty.

Maggie, will that one grow here?

As beautiful as that H baby is Caro, I would def give it a try myself, based on my results with other large-flowered hybrids. The big-uns do not perform as well here as they do in cooler climates - esp during these last few extra-horrid, long summers, but their spring bonanza makes up for it.
My experience with them in this garden is that if I give them direct sun, they will repeat bloom in late summer (when its early fall elsewhere), but the sun diminishes the size of the blooms as well as fades them. Last week I noticed that some of the blooms on mine in full sun had turned their faces into fence instead of the light! Also, full sun turns spring-grown foliage to a black crisp by July. They do begin new foliage growth in Aug in prep for Sept bloom, ,, and as you can imagine, it too is a bit stunted in scorcher years. Those in half or full shade do not rebloom well or at all for me in fall, but at least their spring blooms do not fade so badly. To me, they are as roses, which also do so much better in cooler climes - but still worth the keeping to reap what beauty we can from them.

Oh, and I was interested to see that Susan's petals over-lap and are rounded - where Terry's are pointy and recurved. Maybe they are 2 different strains of the H line?

Maybe Terry's bloom was not fully open. He has a picture of Huldine on his August page. Its petals overlap (mostly) and have rounded tips. I'm adding Terry's photo here.

I have to confess, Susan, to very seldom using fertiliser. I do sometimes feed once a year, but did not feed last year or this year. The growth and numbers of flowers this year have been the best ever. This has also been the wettest year ever, leading me to believe it's water they crave more than food.

It was exceptionally dry in our area this year. I tried to give everything a deep watering once a week, but I wasn't able to water the whole garden regularly. Our two clematis vines were better than ever this year, but I have supposed that it took them a while to get established.

Thanks for not being mad at me for taking the liberty of posting your photo! J

Since we are talking Clemmies, what about this for the height of fashion.

And I never took one lesson in hair dressing.

Hey! Susan, some use me putting on copyright..... gardening friends are always excepted. Can I pinch yours? J

Still on Clematis, I just succumbed to another four, C. flammula (tiny little sparkling white flowers), C. Mdm. Julie Correvan (spelling from label) should be Madame Julia Correvon, suppose they were close, wine red open flowers. Third try for me with this Madame, all other viticellas do O.K. but this one refuses. Other two are both new varieties of viticella, both unknown to me before seeing them for sale, C. v. Prince Charles and C. v. Blue Angel, first one grey/blue flowers, second one almost sky blue with a hint of violet.
All four, or any four £10.00, and believe me that is cheap, they are usually about £6.00 each over here.

Terry, How do you find room for all those clematis? We have only two, Jackman and Huldine. Your photo of the seed heads makes me green with envy. (Green text did not stand out, oddly enough!) Neither of our clematis has a fuzzy seed head. We had a Sweet Autumn clematis for a short time, but my husband said it was too vigorous, so we had to give it away. We gave it to the lady across the street, so I can still look at it!

You're welcome to any of my photos. I wish I could get the great resolution you have in your photos. I have a lot of trouble photographing things on a sunny day. The camera tends to overexpose them.

I'm loving your discussion. I want to learn more about clematis. Have tried them everywhere I've lived, and the one I got this summer is the first one to ever survive. No blooms and only about 2 feet tall, but....its green and its alive.

Carolyn, I'd say, give it two or three years to become established. We got our Huldine clematis in 1996. Last year it was noticeable against the hedge of arborvitae, but this year was the first year it had lots of blooms. The Jackman clematis didn't take as long to become established, but I'll have to dig through a bunch of tags (put in envelopes by year) before I could tell you when we planted it.

Also, I wanted to add that your photos, Maggie, are superb! Do either you or Terry have any tips for a rank amateur?

I almost wish you hadn't of included me with Terry in the photo bit Susan - he puts me to shame! And I had just gone and taken some clem shots this afternoon to add to this thread. Haven't put them in computer yet and am really dreading their outcome! You and T have great shots on your sites - just look at those Huldines up there. And that seed head shot - WOW the definition is awesome. Larry just came in and had a look at them too - told me to tell you he is most envious of the hairdos Terry (and the photography)!

About washed-out pics Susan, Terry keeps telling us his turn out so well because he shoots in low light - easier to do outdoors in Yorkshire than Texas - he is on the same latitude as Juno, Alaska! Our sun is so intense and cloudy days so rare, that I try to take pics just as the sun is setting or rising to avoid the glare.

Do you ever grow clem from your plants seeds Terry? Bj, here in Ft. Worth said some of hers re-seed themselves, but I have never found one here. (warning, pill bug moan potential).

Caro, I have found one place in this garden that supports clems better than others and will try to get some recognizable pics out of the camera tonight.

On the photography thing, mine are almost always over exposed, but with Paint Shop Pro I set brightness to -6 and contrast to +6, and then apply as many times as I think the picture will take it, without becoming too dark. I also boost the saturation on some of the ones where the colour looks washed out. You don't have to use Paint Shop Pro, almost any photo re-touching or paint program will be capable of doing the same.

Have you tried the montanas Carolyn, they grow into enormous things here, but should be more restrained in your climate and flower before your heat gets them. I would think that C. armandii would also be a good one to try, barely hardy here. C. cirrhosa is another one, likes it hot and dry, I grow it on my South facing wall, it needs the heat or it won't flower.

I have been successful with the alpinas from seed, Maggie, grew about twenty, gave most away, planted out five, all flower well.

Where do I find room for them all Susan, by growing them through bushes and conifers, up walls, with other climbers and planting two or three different ones together to give a long flowering season. If you have room for the rootball, you have room for a clematis, montanas and the like excepted.

Just to finish on the camera, don't forget for every photo I show there are about ten that I don't. That's the beauty of the digital, costs no more to take 100 than to take ten, so my best advice is to take lots and lots and lots, and then protect your computer from the demon drink. J

We use Adobe, Terry to improve digi pics, but even then it is often a lost cause! And also that comes in handy for blaming the camera operators lack of skill at this end ;-)

About the Montanas, I am always so impressed with thier size in pics, but have had no luck with them here. Bj and I have both tried the white and the pink several times and had them die after the first bloom. Might be a heat thing, but I will try again if I find another in local nursery. I never say never when it comes to flowers!

One of my probs with growing them up trees is that they often become too shaded in their youth by the trees foliage, to mature strong enuff to reach the sun. I have a few on some small late-leafers and am determined to see this come to be, one of these days! Shrubs work better, but when I need to trim the shrub, I usually damage the vine.

My best effort has been growing them among a climbing rose along the west facing fence. The rose shaded them in summer, but had to be removed last fall. Now they are struggling in the full summer sun and waiting for me to replace the rose. So these pics look awful to me with the clems against bare fence, but might provide some insight to what I described above as the clems being great in full sun in spring here, but having a hard time with our summers. Here's Ernest Markham in April...

one more time... Ernest Markham, April

He had been cut back quite a bit last fall when the rose canes were taken off the fence. Now here he is again after struggling through the summer and trying to bloom in full strength hot sun.

Same Ernest Markham plant as above, taken yesterday.

By July or August, the spring leaves have turned crispy black and are knocked off with strong blast of water with the garden hose. Notice how faded the blooms are - colors have not been adjusted on either shot.

The 3ft tall retainer wall seen in 1st pic probably goes at least 1ft deep and the neighbors yard is level with the top of the wall. All this gives the fence clems extra cool deep root zone - just like the books instruct! Growing them elsewhere in the garden makes it really difficult to keep their roots happy, esp where the soil is shallow above rock shelf. Here, I suspect the roots crawl under the wall where it is really cool below the neighbor's elevated 3ft of ground.
Here's another sunuck but determined to bloom in Sept - the blackened spring leaves still waiting for me to blast them away. It is a hybrid C. viticella, the 'Etoile Violette' which was planted only this spring and is already showing promise of its reputation for rampant growth.

This next also planted only this spring, yet bloomed well even in July and August - its a winner for here and no wonder... it is a hybrid of the Texas native, C. texensis 'Duchess of Albany'. Interesting to note it was bred in England.
This angle doesn't display its best charm of the recurved bell petals, but I was too lazy to get the ladder out to get a profile shot ;-)

More to come tomorrow...

I'm drooling over the thought of those new ones Terry. Just love those end of season prices too!
OH, and I meant to explain about Terry's ref to his computer and the alcohol abuse - he's discovered that key boards and puters just can't handle a full glass of wine.

Maggie, I'm not sure whether I'm glad or sorry that you explained Terry's reference. My imagination was...imagining all kinds of scenarios. Clematis montanas grow well in the Pacific NW. We used to have one, but my husband (the garden designer) decided that a clematis which bloomed at the same time as the tree it was climbing on was not a good idea, especially since the flowers were so similar in color.



Terry, I tried your brightness -6, contrast +6 & was pleased with the results. I had been changing both brightness & contrast in the same direction.

Have you tried them on the North side of the house/fence Maggie? They grow well in that situation even in my cooler conditions. Much better through a bush or up an open trellis (Texas gardeners), a wall or fence in your sun will probably throw back too much heat and bake the Clem. Also worth bearing in mind that the root system extends quite a distance as the plant matures and the shading must be expansive enough to cover the whole of it.

My C. texensis is the same as yours Maggie. The Ernest Markham in the first shot looks a beauty, as does the white Iris. Bet the Iris doesn't mind the heat. They don't do well in my rather shady sluggy conditions, although a yellow one does struggle on in my planted aviary.

The C. viticellas are really taking off over here with new varieties appearing each year. Good news for me, cause I love em and they don't get the dreaded Clematis wilt.

Nothing much wrong with those photos people, I suppose we are all a bit hypercritical of ourselves. Susan, try setting the contrast to +4 instead of +6, may just help to lighten the darker areas, although I must admit I often purposely darken the foliage to make the flowers stand out.

This is a good thread for me, I rather like Clematis, can you tell?

Maggie have you tried Clematis on the north wall? I happen to have a large expanse of north wall currently taken up by some unidentified bushes that obviously need full sun. I plan to move them elsewhere (Guy Fawkes bonfire pile perhaps?) in the event the temperature ever gets to the lower 90's or even 80's. I had thought I'd do some sort of shade garden on that side of the house, since its the only place that doesn't get strong sunlight all day. Another winter project.

Weather update: We lost the cool 90's yesterday and returned to 102 "with" humidity!

I have tried clem on every wall, tree and anything or anybody who stands still long enough in this garden. The spot above has been the most successful WHEN the clems had the 40 foot length of rose to climb through. The rose bush shaded the wall from reflecting heat, the rose leaves up on the fence shaded most of the intwined clem foliage from burning, while their new terminals would peek out of the rose foliage to get the sun they needed to bloom. That plus the deep cool rootzone under the wall, due to the neighbors 3 foot of elevated ground above the roots also retain moisture. The plants do not look so good now because I had to remove the Mermaid rose this spring. I am replacing it with several more modest growing climbing roses so that the clems will do well in them again one day.

Clems planted in full shade have never matured for me – it may be because I did not feed them enough for this type of terrain. Those that live facing east here, only bloom in spring – yes they are the repeat-blooming varieties – because they receive a lot of light in spring. Then summer foliage of neighboring plants fills in to shade them too much for them to bloom again, or at least to bloom very much. Again, more nutrients – particularly phosphate would probably improve late-season bloom count. Maybe one day they will grow fast enough to keep up with the other plants growth and peek through them to bloom, as the those on the fence did thru the rose canes.

The Vitas are doing well in this area too Terry, being recommended for better repeat bloom than the large flowered ones here and I hope to try a lot more of them in various exposures too. Also, I have learned that in this garden, clems really do need a lot of feeding to do well – as Susan was referring to, because our soil is so rotten. Gardeners with deep, naturally rich soils do not have to work as hard at it – lucky!

Terry, where on earth do you get four clematis for £10! Even £6 is pretty good, they are closer to £8.50 round here. Your photos are great, overcast days really do help bring the colours out. Are you going to the Harrogate Show this weekend? We are scheduled to be in Leeds for a wedding and I planned to go to the show on Saturday but it is looking doubtful with the current fuel situation.
There is always room for another clematis Susan, many are well suited to scrambling through a herbaceous border or an early flowering shrub such as Philadelphus, particularly the vicitella and texensis types. I have C.v. ‘Minuet’ and C.v. ‘Royal Velours’ both running through a holly tree, I never prune them and they look great. Give ‘Duchess of Albany’ a try, just let her loose in a border and her flowers will be popping up everywhere.

Nicola, As a matter of fact we have a nice big Philadelphus. Getting a clematis to climb on it is a wonderful idea. Putting clematis in a perennial bed is also a good idea. We've seen that done in local gardens. I don't know why we never thought of doing it ourselves. 'Duchess of Albany' is appealing, with those bell-like flowers.

Are you saying to plant the clematis in the border and just let it run on the ground through the other plants?

I have something that I bought which unfortunately I haven't a clue what it is, but it has really fine purple leaves, and is some kind of vine. It didn't grow up the gutter pipe as I'd hoped, but it filled in the empty spots in the border, and looks pretty good.

Yikes, Carolyn, how about tantalizing us with a mystery plant! \Ñ\Ñ\

Quick hide the formatting codes from Susan, she's worse than me. J J J J J J J J
Yes Carolyn, we need a pic of the mystery climber that doesn't.

I'll get right on that Susan, after the digi cam batteries recharge.

And...how are you guys making the large faces?

With great difficulty Carolyn.

b{2{yellow{ch{:)}}}}
Just add a backslash before the b, the 2, the yellow and the ch

J

Ta da!!

Yeah but they don't wink, and I just can't do without my ;-)s

Ok, you guys name this one - it does great here in spite of everything. I dug it up this spring to relocate and , well,, its still waiting for me decide where it should go. I'm thinking around the bottle tree would be nice - there's some other blues there below the sunflowers.

Ok Caro - they look lavender but light blue just does that and I'm in a hurry ;-)

Looks familiar.....

But you know me Maggie, have enough trouble remembering what day it is. J

Maggie, That's a delightful clematis. I'd love to have it in our garden. When you mentioned your bottle tree, I reached for the nearest garden book. I found Brachychiton populneus, which might not grow in your area. Then I remembered the bottle tree you mentioned in January's Come Stroll.

Oh sorrry Susan!! I have done similiar things like that with plant names too !
It was sold to me as the evergreen 'Armandii', but that doesn't fit according to the books. Come on Terry,,, we'll have to rely on that whippersnapper memory afterall ;-) orrrr,
Nicola,, anyone,, know what it is??

See how much better your closeups are than mine Terry? I also took one as close as yours and it is even fuzzier than mine above. Oh, and I noticed both of our plants seem to be in need of some iron in the soil. Ya think?

Mine is growing where our chicken run used to be, I think it's a case of overfeed for mine, notice how much bigger the leaves are. Not totally convinced that they are the same, Maggie, see also the Clematis x jouiniana Praecox in my August section. Or better still see it here.

Talking of close-ups, I've been trying for two days to get a shot of a large garden spider, but the camera just will not focus on it, but always on the foliage behind. If I try to hold something close behind her she just scarpers into the vegetation.

Hello,
I've just begun to grow clematis in Fort Worth.
My big blue one has finished blooming and I'd like to get another to grow with it to bloom when the first (blue one) doesn't. I don't know much about clematis here so would appreciate suggestions. I did plant a Sweet Autumn Clematis last fall or earlier this spring to clim up a snag and it seems to be doing okay so far. Thanks for whatever advise you can give.
BerryB

The ones that sporadically bloom for me in the summer, more than any others, are C. integrifolia (but it is a brushy type, rather than a climber) and the 'Duchess of Albany' climber which is a hybrid of the C. texensis.
Ben O. brought me some of the native C. texensis this week. I am delighted and am looking forward to comparing its summer performance with the Duchess.