Growing clematis Montana over an arch
Hi! I'm new to the forum. My parents bought me a little clematis Montana for my birthday along with a garden arch to grow it over. I'm not sure what type of Montana it is, it was supposed to be a rubens, but I'm not convinced that it is.
My first question is when should I plant it? It's quite young, I think probably only a year old. It's got some nice top growth but it only has one stem. I know that once I've planted it I should cut it back to about 30cm, but when is best to plant it? Should I wait until next spring?
Secondly, I know that group one clematis don't require much pruning, just a bit of tidying up. I was wondering whether it would be possible to plant another climber on the arch also, something to flower later on in the year. I know that montanas are very vigorous. Would it be possible to prune it right back straight after flowering each year? Or would that kill it? I'm concerned about it growing and looking woody at the bottom as the whole plant will be visible so ideally I'd like it to at least be in leaf near the base if not blooming too!
I'm sorry for the long post, I've never kept a clematis before!
Thanks in advance 
Posts
a montana will cover an arch very quickly indeed, so you get flowers at the bottom, weave it in and out horizontally, when it gets to the bottom of the otherside of the arch you could start weaving it back towards the planting side again. Montana doesn't need to be pruned as has been said you will be pruning off next years flowering stems, i have montana 'mayleen' and it smells amazing, i've had it planted since last summer, it has reached the top of the trellis which is summerhouse high, i have started weaving it back downwards to fill any gaps.
Thank you for the replies
The arch is about 7' high and 5' wide so somewhere around 20' in total from one side to the other.
sanjy67 I didn't think about weaving it back the other way when it reaches the other side! Good idea thanks!
So I should plant it now. I've read that it should be cut down to about 30cm the first spring after planting, so that would be next year, is that right? I know I won't have any flowers next year then but I can wait if it's better for the plant. I imagine it is as it just has the one stem. It does branch out into about 8 stems about 20cm up.
Hi Jessica - It's only a small plant you have so it will take a while to get going, but once it does it will grow rapidly. I'm not sure you need to do anything to it other than get it in the ground now. You could lightly prune it if it's leggy looking, and then just let it get on with growing.
As it grows more stems, yes - weave it in an out and tie it in to get better coverage for flowers to grow on. It will then cover a fairly big area and you can leave it to get on with it, and eventually just prune bits off to contain it if outgrows the space. They flower on the older growth ( plus anything produced after flowering in spring ) so if you prune after flowering you'll sacrifice some flowers the following year. Not an issue on a big, mature plant. The more you prune it back, the more flowers you lose as you're cutting off the bits it flowers on.
Unlike the 'usual' clematis, montanas have a woody framework present all year round. They don't need much care once established.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
i wouldn't cut it down at all, that usually applies to the two other groups of clematis unless yours is particularly spindly, just let it grow, then all the growing it does this year will be where the flowers come from next year, as i said before weave it in and out horizontally fairly close together, it will still cover the arch but will take longer but it's better as you will have flowers over the whole arch. If it allowed to just grow upwards you will end up with a very uneven show of flowers probably just at the top and just spindly wood up one side of the arch
ps if you snap any of it i just tape it back together with electrical tape and i snapped about three and those stems have all survived, it does snap quite easily so be careful with it
Last edited: 11 June 2016 17:14:20
Ok so once it's planted I'll get it weaved in horizontally. There isn't much to weave at the moment but it'll get going eventually.
I've also read that clematis should be planted with the top of the rootball a few inches below ground. Is that true? If I did that the one main stem from the bottom would be buried, but above that it branches out well, and that bit would be above ground. It literally does just have one stem from the base.
I'll get a photo of it
yeah post a pic and then we can advise on next step, you do normally bury them deeper as this encourages more stems to grow and also they don't like to get their roots too hot, post your pic & i'll take a look at how big it it atm
That would be great thanks
I'll get a photo of it tomorrow.
Hi Jessica, I planted a Montana Rubens at the base of the wooden trellis last year, the picture is about three weeks ago!