Leigh2, do you know which 2 clematis you have ? Are they viticellas, texensis, herbaceous, species or what ? Most of these are summer flowering, group 3, but their growing requirements are very different, some need to be planted deep, others don't. There are some compact forms of summer clematis ideal for pots including some very gardenworthy Estonian cultivars, they are Late Large Flowered Group.
It is natural for clematis to flower at the top and the way to prevent this is to spread the stems sideways. The same is true of roses. The trouble with spreading clematis stems is that they ae very fragile and can get damaged even when you think you have been very gentle with them. That stem will then die back.You have to be very gentle and do it every time the plant makes a few inches of growth. If you have them in a pot with a pyramid support, an option is to plant more than one and gently take all the stems of each plant diagonally around the support. One thing that dawned on me when I looked at gorgeous displays of clematis in pots in garden shows was that there was more than one plant in there. Call me thick, but it took ages to realise this.
Joesephine is a group 2 which means she should have a light prune immediately after the first flush of flowers in May and June to remove dead heads and any unwanted or old stems. It should then be given a good dollop of slow release clematis food or blood fish and bone and a liquid boost of rose or tomato food. This is particularly important for plants in pots with limited resources. Given this encouragement, she should produce a secon flush of flowers at the end of summer but they will probably be less double.
Josephine is also known to be an unreliable flowerer if grown in poor conditions and may even produce greenish flowers if there isn't enough sunlight available.
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Thanks Gardening Grandma, Richard and obelixx. When I bought them I was told they were a group 3, so I probably pruned them wrongly as well which won't have helped. I will give them some TLC this year and keep my fingers crossed but everyone's comments have been really helpful. Thanks
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Leigh2, do you know which 2 clematis you have ? Are they viticellas, texensis, herbaceous, species or what ? Most of these are summer flowering, group 3, but their growing requirements are very different, some need to be planted deep, others don't. There are some compact forms of summer clematis ideal for pots including some very gardenworthy Estonian cultivars, they are Late Large Flowered Group.
Hi Richard. I'm afraid I don't know whether they are herbaceous etc. I do know that one is called Josephine and they both have large double blooms
It is natural for clematis to flower at the top and the way to prevent this is to spread the stems sideways. The same is true of roses. The trouble with spreading clematis stems is that they ae very fragile and can get damaged even when you think you have been very gentle with them. That stem will then die back.You have to be very gentle and do it every time the plant makes a few inches of growth. If you have them in a pot with a pyramid support, an option is to plant more than one and gently take all the stems of each plant diagonally around the support. One thing that dawned on me when I looked at gorgeous displays of clematis in pots in garden shows was that there was more than one plant in there. Call me thick, but it took ages to realise this.
If they have large double flowers and one is Josephine, then they are not group 3 clematis.
Joesephine is a group 2 which means she should have a light prune immediately after the first flush of flowers in May and June to remove dead heads and any unwanted or old stems. It should then be given a good dollop of slow release clematis food or blood fish and bone and a liquid boost of rose or tomato food. This is particularly important for plants in pots with limited resources. Given this encouragement, she should produce a secon flush of flowers at the end of summer but they will probably be less double.
Josephine is also known to be an unreliable flowerer if grown in poor conditions and may even produce greenish flowers if there isn't enough sunlight available.
Thanks Gardening Grandma, Richard and obelixx. When I bought them I was told they were a group 3, so I probably pruned them wrongly as well which won't have helped. I will give them some TLC this year and keep my fingers crossed but everyone's comments have been really helpful. Thanks