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Clematis Dying?
ommthree
Posts: 314
Hello all,
I bought a clematis Miss Bateman in autumn and am growing it in a pot on my balcony. It's a good size pot, around 20 litres and it's in a fairly shady spot. I'm using a very free-draining potting mix.
It has grown well but now the lower leaves are turning brown. Would anybody have an idea what is wrong?
I tried last year with a Clematis montana and had similar problems. I thought a smaller type of clematis in a bigger pot might do better. Any ideas would be much appreciated. I'm posting a couple of pictures.
Thank you!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131308917@N04/28385036082/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131308917@N04/27874485213/in/dateposted-public/
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How often do you water it and have you fed it?
Clematis are hungry, thirsty plants usually and potting compost generally only had food for 100 days. This means you need to top dress your pots with, preferably, specialist clematis feed every spring and then give occasional feeds of liquid tomato food as an extra tonic.
Having said that, some browning of the older leaves is normal. In order to stop it getting "bare legs" you need to keep it pruned regularly to encourage new leafy shoots form the base. This simply involves dead heading after the first flush of flowers and cutting off any growth that is exceeding the bounds you have set. Give it a feed then and it should produce a second flush in late summer.
In addition to Obelixx's excellent advice, you mention that your compost is "very free-draining". It should be soil-based and retain some water rather than letting it run straight through.
A 20 litre pot is not big enough for a clematis. It needs to be bigger and at least 45cm (18 inches) deep. The bigger the better. John Innes No 3 with added grit makes a good clematis compost.
Last edited: 23 July 2016 14:00:38
Yes, forgot the pot size bit. When I buy new clems I pot them up for their first eyar or two to let them develop new roots in peace before the go in the borders. Minimum pot size for this is 45cm wide and 60 deep. If yours is to spend its life in a pot it needs more space.
When you re-pot it, bury it 3 or 4 inches deeper than it is now as this encourages extra shoots and use a good John Innes no 3 compost with some added coir or leaf mold to help retain moisture but not make it sodden.
Your plant is in perfect health, the only problem is that the roots are dry, 4 gallons of water per week, preferably rainwater, up to 1 gallon per day in hot weather.
Use peat based multi-purpose compost for best results.
Thanks all.
I'm pretty sure it's not under watered, and I'm certain it's not short on food. I'll try potting it on to something a bit bigger and I'll try cutting it back a bit when it gets to the end of its supports. Fingers crossed!
Richard Hodson has a national collection of hostas and know his stuff. I think you would do well to heed his advice on watering. That's an awful lot of leaf for one small pot of compost to maintain in good nick. No wonder some is going brown.
I certainly didn't mean to be dismissive of the advice! But I know that the soil is always kept moist. I will try potting it on to something bigger.
Hostas????