Thanks all. Still not sure of the advice on pruning. I think non pruning is a no go for this garden which is very small. It has been a vigorous grower this season (IngleZ- maybe your local plants respond better to a Brazilian cut )
It is a gorgeous plant, has covered a rather nondescript elderflower tree making it look rather exotic. I guess I am just being a bit greedy wanting height and colour early in the year without a bare bottom.
I will just aim for a bushy bottom fairygirl.
Richard, your description of the seedheads is perfect - Tina Turner
Have you got it on a fence or something Daisy? The best way of getting a good show is to train it horizontally as much as possible, rather than just letting it go vertically. That way, you'll get loads of coverage on whatever structure it's on - and plenty of flower power without having to keep hacking it back
Not sure if a bushy bottom's better than a bare one....
Last edited: 10 August 2016 08:00:45
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Yes it is against a fence which is quite shady so it does tend to bolt upwards when I am not looking. (Must try harder) The left side is covering the fence and pergola and to the right, the fence and tree. It is also intertwined with a Clematis napaulensis which I had imagined would complement each other.
Don't forget........... First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.................It really does take a few years for a clematis to make a big enough root system to give us a good display of flowers.
Daisy - you'll get there. I had a montana at a previous house which was primarily for growing up the side and over the top of the back door. Beside that was a one metre boundary fence so I trained it all along that - around thirty feet - using a few horizontal wires. It covered that and I then took it at right angles along a another fence which had an archway through to the rest of the garden. I just pruned back wayward branches and stems. It was glorious display in spring after a few years
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Thanks all. Still not sure of the advice on pruning. I think non pruning is a no go for this garden which is very small. It has been a vigorous grower this season (IngleZ- maybe your local plants respond better to a Brazilian cut
)
It is a gorgeous plant, has covered a rather nondescript elderflower tree making it look rather exotic. I guess I am just being a bit greedy wanting height and colour early in the year without a bare bottom.
I will just aim for a bushy bottom fairygirl.
Richard, your description of the seedheads is perfect - Tina Turner
Have you got it on a fence or something Daisy? The best way of getting a good show is to train it horizontally as much as possible, rather than just letting it go vertically. That way, you'll get loads of coverage on whatever structure it's on - and plenty of flower power without having to keep hacking it back
Not sure if a bushy bottom's better than a bare one....
Last edited: 10 August 2016 08:00:45
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Yes it is against a fence which is quite shady so it does tend to bolt upwards when I am not looking. (Must try harder) The left side is covering the fence and pergola and to the right, the fence and tree. It is also intertwined with a Clematis napaulensis which I had imagined would complement each other.
Well that was the idea anyway.
Don't forget........... First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.................It really does take a few years for a clematis to make a big enough root system to give us a good display of flowers.
This is my Queen Mother today, third year...
And Hagelby Blue..............
I shall remember that, Richard!
2 super clematis, but particularly Queen Mother. Those flowers make me smile - reminds me of a Diddy Man's hat.
Daisy - you'll get there. I had a montana at a previous house which was primarily for growing up the side and over the top of the back door. Beside that was a one metre boundary fence so I trained it all along that - around thirty feet - using a few horizontal wires. It covered that and I then took it at right angles along a another fence which had an archway through to the rest of the garden. I just pruned back wayward branches and stems. It was glorious display in spring after a few years
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...