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Training a clematis
Daryl2
Posts: 452
Hi all. I have a couple of new winter flowering clematis plants which are destined to climb up a cane and then cover a length of horizontal trellis on top of a fence. They are very small at the moment and obviously need help to reach the trellis. I don't want them fanned out on the fence, just straight up and then spread over the trellis. My question is do I encourage them to wind their stems round the cane so the cane will eventually be entwined permanently or do I tie them in as they grow but keep them growing straight up one side of the cane so that the cane can be removed or replaced in later years?
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Hi Daryl - no idea on the paragraphs !
but on the clematis, i prefer to keep them on the cane - clematis stems don't get as thick and tough as something like wisteria (which would eventually envelope a cane, and would then have a decaying cane within) so it doesn't seem to cause a problem. Mine have been in about 5 years now and the canes are also a good reminder not to slash/dig up the stems !!
Daryl - I have a similar set up for summer clematis and I just do the same as chicky. Some of mine have about 18 inches to reach the trellis and a few will have the canes removed as they don't need pruning back hard so the framework will remain. I do train them across the space but the theory is the same as you can see in the pic below.
You can also add a length of wire on vine eyes to bridge the gap if you prefer. It's almost invisible especially once the plants grow a bit.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My trellis is along the top of the fence to screen the neighbours out a bit so they have about 5' to grow yet before they get there. I go out everyday to give them a bit of a pep talk and encourage them along
In that case I'd add a bit more trellis or wires for them to cling onto Daryl. Otherwise they'll be loose and prone to being blown around on a windy day which can lead to them being damaged.
Cheers Daryl - I did the raised beds last summer so all very new. That clematis (on right) is Etoile Violette and it flowered it's head off all summer and into early autumn.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Whatever takes your fancy Daryl! You can see in that pic of mine that I simply added another smaller section of trellis at the right hand end as the bed is lower and there's another clematis there. The raised beds get higher as they come nearer the house. In this pic you can see that I had sections all at the same height right along even though the beds were stepped.
What I would do is keep it all the same whatever way you do it, so that you get a unified look.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...