Richard I've been perusing the Taylors clematis website and have taken a shine to two...clematis 'Forever Friends' and 'Rhapsody'. Suitable for a 6ft obelisk? (7ft overall)
Rhapsody is a lovely plant. I would echo the slight worries about planting groups and pruning unless you are in a position to take so much trouble. So a clematis that flowers early as well as late will solve your difficulties Fishy65. Taylors clematis allows you to search by height and gives info on flowering periods--that would be my first port of call.
In terms of roses, again Richard's pointer is very good here. With a 6ft obelisk, you'd basically be looking at a shrub rose with a flexible rather than stiff habit, not a climber or rambler. At best you'd need one of the new little rambler types like 'Open Arms' or 'Jasmina'. David Austin's 'Snow Goose' is good and many Old Roses will be excellent, such as hybrid musks -- 'Cornelia' for example if you want flowers over a longer period. There are loads really in all colours. In some formal rose gardens they bind the stems around in tight spirals from the base and get flowers from top to bottom.
a few very good posts on here, your choice of clematis is excellent, we grow the Rhapsody through a double yellow rose, Elfe, the clematis is inky blue a superb colour. I like Forever Friends because of the parentage, the seed parent Mrs George Jackman is a beautiful pure white and you have the pollen parent, viticella Walenburg for added strength and vigour.
Excellent post from Cambridgerose re the rose regarding some of the ' old roses ' they have better foliage, perfume, disease resistance ( in my opinion )
Top marks to aym for recommending clematis viorna, a must have for every gardener, I have a few hybrid viornas that I have Registered, so easy and variable from seed, lots of flowers and seeds.
The top picture I am registering at present, the second is Ruby Tuesday, the third is Lily the Pink.
( Obviously no-one on these pages will be old enough to remember who they are )
These are gorgeous Richard--register away! That top one is really fun. I have seen a few photos of Ruby Tuesday but not yet tried her. I have a rose obelisk right now and am thinking of indulging in a clematis for a show of late colour. I have so many viticellas so I might go for something else.
aym, do let us know how you get on with Princess Kate. I agree it is the most beautiful flower ever, but having had a few dire experiences with the texensis hybrids I am hesitant to have a go (also my current garden is a slug paradise).
What a lot of lovely clematis, it feels like being in a sweet shop when I was a kid. Don't worry aym280, I'm a complete novice when it comes to clematis. The only one I've had was many years ago, a Montana I seem to remember and I planted it up against a wooden fence, watered it once and forgot about it.
The poor plant died but I've become more serious as a gardener since those days and have been reading about clematises liking roots in the shade and head in the sun. Is that a general rule of thumb or misleading? I'm still trying to decide where to put the obelisk. The upper part of the garden is sunnier and on a very slight slope so free draining.
However lower down near the pond and shrubs the soil tends to be more moist except under the ash tree which is to the right as you look down. So lower left side looks the place
OK a food shop to Asda and they had clematis for sale £2 each. I bought 'rouge cardinal' and 'girenas'. Not the two I had ear marked but I can always buy another obelisk.
Rouge cardinal is on the Taylors site but not Girenas, though that one is on the 'clematis on the web' site. I need to get this obelisk put together
Posts
Richard I've been perusing the Taylors clematis website and have taken a shine to two...clematis 'Forever Friends' and 'Rhapsody'. Suitable for a 6ft obelisk? (7ft overall)
Rhapsody is a lovely plant. I would echo the slight worries about planting groups and pruning unless you are in a position to take so much trouble. So a clematis that flowers early as well as late will solve your difficulties Fishy65. Taylors clematis allows you to search by height and gives info on flowering periods--that would be my first port of call.
In terms of roses, again Richard's pointer is very good here. With a 6ft obelisk, you'd basically be looking at a shrub rose with a flexible rather than stiff habit, not a climber or rambler. At best you'd need one of the new little rambler types like 'Open Arms' or 'Jasmina'. David Austin's 'Snow Goose' is good and many Old Roses will be excellent, such as hybrid musks -- 'Cornelia' for example if you want flowers over a longer period. There are loads really in all colours. In some formal rose gardens they bind the stems around in tight spirals from the base and get flowers from top to bottom.
a few very good posts on here, your choice of clematis is excellent, we grow the Rhapsody through a double yellow rose, Elfe, the clematis is inky blue a superb colour. I like Forever Friends because of the parentage, the seed parent Mrs George Jackman is a beautiful pure white and you have the pollen parent, viticella Walenburg for added strength and vigour.
Excellent post from Cambridgerose re the rose regarding some of the ' old roses ' they have better foliage, perfume, disease resistance ( in my opinion )
Top marks to aym for recommending clematis viorna, a must have for every gardener, I have a few hybrid viornas that I have Registered, so easy and variable from seed, lots of flowers and seeds.
The top picture I am registering at present, the second is Ruby Tuesday, the third is Lily the Pink.
( Obviously no-one on these pages will be old enough to remember who they are )
These are gorgeous Richard--register away! That top one is really fun. I have seen a few photos of Ruby Tuesday but not yet tried her. I have a rose obelisk right now and am thinking of indulging in a clematis for a show of late colour. I have so many viticellas so I might go for something else.
aym, do let us know how you get on with Princess Kate. I agree it is the most beautiful flower ever, but having had a few dire experiences with the texensis hybrids I am hesitant to have a go (also my current garden is a slug paradise).
When Princess Kate, a Dutch cultivar, was Registered, the parentage details were with-held.
To become a member of Texensis Group, 1 or both parents must be mainly texensis, but we don't know the parents !!
Most of the Texensis Group have red flowers.
This clematis reminds me very much of Elf, seen here in our garden, but Viticella Group.
What a lot of lovely clematis, it feels like being in a sweet shop when I was a kid. Don't worry aym280, I'm a complete novice when it comes to clematis. The only one I've had was many years ago, a Montana I seem to remember and I planted it up against a wooden fence, watered it once and forgot about it.
The poor plant died but I've become more serious as a gardener since those days and have been reading about clematises liking roots in the shade and head in the sun. Is that a general rule of thumb or misleading? I'm still trying to decide where to put the obelisk. The upper part of the garden is sunnier and on a very slight slope so free draining.
However lower down near the pond and shrubs the soil tends to be more moist except under the ash tree which is to the right as you look down. So lower left side looks the place
Richard, I was going by Taylors' Clematis which has it as a texensis:
http://www.taylorsclematis.co.uk/Princess-Kate.html
However if you have had good experiences with it that is excellent news.
OK a food shop to Asda and they had clematis for sale £2 each. I bought 'rouge cardinal' and 'girenas'. Not the two I had ear marked but I can always buy another obelisk.
Rouge cardinal is on the Taylors site but not Girenas, though that one is on the 'clematis on the web' site. I need to get this obelisk put together