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Clematis advise
Bonsai-Marc
Posts: 444
in Plants
this is very sparse growing but looks like it will be the year i get the most flowers, they are due soon.
and is finally giving the best growth it has in 3 years.
but any advise how to make it look better, will it need a prune after flower etc.
I have added extra wire end of last year as was constantly bening blown about by wind, now has more to grab onto
ty
0
Posts
You've definitely got some flower buds there
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What variety is it?
Do you feed it with specialist clematis fertiliser?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
im not sure, was a present 3 years ago and we have also moved house a year ago.
got a couple of flowers last year and looks like more this year and new shoot coming up from pot so obviously it is doing better but still room for improvement.
no i haven't fed it anything since last year i think
i have tomato fertilizer and some bonsai stuff for more green plus some stuff to help with lime soil
or do i need a specific fertilizer?
maybe ill grab some as see will also be good for passion flower which i also have. possible dead (or about to wake up) but i have a baby to replace it
If it's in a pot that might be why it's struggling - they really like to get their roots down into cool damp soil. How big is the pot?
Just for now, give it some specialist clematis feed.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Pot is about 2foot high and top mulched etc and broken pots to keep below cooler. Wouldn't have thought enough growth yet to fill yet.
Maybe I can check its roots and repot after flowering.
Advise as per pruning?
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Looks like a group 2
it will definitely like the extra support you've added, on the whole group 1 and 2 don't need pruning unless they exceed their bounds
you *can* bulk them up from the base by cutting back hard but this is a scary option for a novice
so leave maybe for now or cut half down after flower to help bulk out maybe
It looks like a group 2 as it has flower buds now so you can prune it after it flowers by about a third and you may get a second flush of flowers around September. Don't forget to post a photo when it's flowering, someone might be able to identify it for you.
Have you refreshed the soil in the pot each year Marc? ie - removing an inch or two and replacing with some fresh compost. A little B, F&B mixed in with that is always beneficial.
The plant will quickly use up all the nutrients in the existing medium so it's something you should do every year with anything planted long term in a pot. Especially a flowering plant.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...