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What do I do with my clematis over winter?
as007
Posts: 94
Hi bought my Clematis from Home bargains for £1.99 and it has been the best £1.99 ever spent.
Produce beautiful deep purple flowers all summer.
Anyhow I’m a little unsure what to do with it over winter ?
As you can see looks a little untidy and some white stuff on the leaves which looks like mould.
Thanks x
0
Posts
Clematis are hungry an dthirsty plants so the first thing to do is to plant it in the ground or in a much bigger pot - 60cms minimum. The white mould is a sign of stress from lack of moisture and probably food as it will have exhausted the supplies in that compost.
Plant it 3 or 4 inches deeper than it is now as this will encourage new shoots to form and provide extra flowers next year. If in a pot, give it the best compost you can afford - John Innes no 3 and give it a mulch of pebbles, chipped bark or expanded clay pellets to retain moisture and stop weeds growing. Give it regular liquid feeds of rose or tomato fertiliser from March to July or August.
If in the ground, mix some well rotted manure or garden compost in the hole to provide moisture retention and food. Scatter wildlife friendly slug pellets around it every week fromm Valentine's Day as they love the new shoots. Give it a handful of slow releas clematis food in spring and occasional tonics of liquid rose or tomato food.
Prune your clematis hard back to about 9 " or the lowest pair of buds on each stem next spring in Feb or March depending on how cold you are. Do not prune during a frosty period.
Give it a decent sized obelisk or trellis to grow up as it will get much bigger next year.
Pruning is dead easy, just cut the stems off just above a pair of leaves or a bud,if no leave l visible. Sounds brutal, but Clematis can and do grow well over 12 feet long new stems over Summer, if well fed of course.
That's big enough for me to live in
It's only 2' in old money and easy t find in either plastic fake terracotta or ceramic or even fibre glass. Make sure it has drainage holes for excess water.