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Rampant clematis. Can I tame it before next year?

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in Plants


The flowers were a bit more beetrooty earlier in the year and I think it's got a bit of mildew .
Anyway ...
Last year I cut it right back in August when the blooms were getting tatty ,fed it and kept it watered. (apparently  not the thing to do but no harm done)
This year it has had ideas of world domination and I've had to remove great swathes of it to protect my smothered  roses 
My question  is: When it's  dormant, could I remove a chunk of root in situ without  taking out the whole plant and splitting it?
In London. Keen but lazy.
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Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    If course you can or try at least. What effect it will have you will have to wait and see! Unless someone has done it and see your post 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Last year I decided to move my E. Violette. I dug it up, or so I thought, and replanted on the other side of the screen I have which has Niobe on it.
    All fine, and it's doing well, but there was obviously still some E.V in the bed. It started throwing up new shoots a couple of months ago,  and is now flowering away.
    They are very resilient  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2020
    Did you prune it again in spring or just last August?   If it's a group 2 or 3 it can be pruned hard back in spring and then will grow a whole new set of stems which flower in summer.  If you keep it well watered and it has good airflow around its upper stems it shouldn't look tatty or get mildew.


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Hmm this thread has got me thinking whether I can SPLIT my large clematis E. Violette, which huge. To make more plants rather than control its size.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Just in August.  Good airflow is difficult when it goes berserk😉
    I'm going to dig a bit out and plant it somewhere. When shall I do it?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If you prune it properly in March you will see exactly how much space it has to grow in and can then decide to trim some of the competition back if needs be and you can also train all the new growth to go where you want it and remove what won't co-operate.   Better that than risk killing it by a half-hearted digging up.   
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Well it looks like I can wait until March to see what to do. The trouble is, once they start growing, they get tangled up. The root ball -for want of a better word - is very large.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Yes, but the fact that they grow isn't a surprise so just go and do a check every couple of days and train in the stems as you want them to grow.  It'll only take a few minutes a time and be well worth the effort.   They are gorgeous with just a bit of management.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    WillDB said:
    Hmm this thread has got me thinking whether I can SPLIT my large clematis E. Violette, which huge. To make more plants rather than control its size.
    Mine was fairly sizeable, covering a good stretch of one fence, and I decided I was going to put another early clem-  alpina or similar, in there instead. I thought I'd got it all out, and I wasn't particularly gentle with it. It's probably done it the world of good!
    I do as @Obelixx describes @B3. Once they're cut back in late winter/early spring, it's a case of guiding stems, looping them round other plants, or tying them in to a bit of trellis to get coverage.
    I do that particularly with my Niobe as it's a 'feature' on my screen, but I quite like it when some stems appear low down among the ferns etc, rather than growing across/up the screen. 
    They do sometimes get away and do their own thing despite my best efforts though...


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    My trouble is, there are far too many stems. If I cut the ones i dont want back to ground, can I be sure that the plant won't produce even more shoots?
    If what's cut stays cut, I'm happy to do the training thing
    @Obelixx @Fairygirl
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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