Don't want to rain on your parade Newb, but to give your clematis the best chance of showing themselves off, it's wise to give them adequate room. Rouge Cardinal and Etoile Violette alone will each cover 6 to 8 feet of fence or more, given the right conditions. Forty feet ( eighty in total) isn't a lot of distance for that quantity of plants. You need to be able to reach them for pruning and tying in too, and they'll need a lot of watering and feeding, especially if you have other planting around them. Make sure they all have the right aspect too - Nelly Moser, for instance, looks dreadful in too much sunlight - it needs a shadier spot. Some are happy anywhere but dark ones ( generally) bleach in too much sun and don't look so good.
Clematis are heavy once they've matured, so make sure whatever support you have will do the job. If your fence isn't sound, concrete new posts in and attach trellis - that's probably the best option. Attach wires to the posts if trellis is too expensive, but make sure it's decent stuff, nicely spaced for attaching stems, and well secured.
You could put some of the smaller ones on obelisks but you'll have to tie them in round those as they grow, to get the best from them. Don't make the mistake of just letting them grow vertically.
Hope I haven't put you off - they're among the most rewarding plants if given the right attention and care, but they can look poor if they don't get it
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just another thought Newb - I have a timber screen in my garden which has a clematis on it, although it wasn't built just to put plants on. You could do something similar and divide your garden by putting a couple of small screens across the plot ( at ninety degrees to the boundary fences) which would enable you to get a few more in the ground. It could be symmetrical - with a gap in the middle, or you could offset them to give a more winding route down the garden. They could be just a few feet wide, or eight/ten feet, depending on the width you have to play with.
If there's room, you don't need to stop at just two either...
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Have a look at using concrete posts designed to hold washing lines. They have ready drilled holes through which you can stretch wires at intervals to support your clems. They'd need concreting in for strength and permanence.
Failing that, use tall 4" wooden posts concreted in and drill holes thru those for wires.
You can make a simple pergola by putting matching posts opposite each other and then scrwing more posts across them at the top. Join them with more wires to get a tunnel effect.
I find group 2 clems can be treated as group 3s which makes pruning and combining them easier. Just make sure they are all buried deeper than they were in their pots and feed them generously every spring after pruning them back and pulling off all the old wood. This way you will also reduce the potential weight of your clematis and they will all flower over the summer months.
Arabella is not a self clinging clem and can be sprawled - with guidance - thru a shrub or allowed to flop about as ground cover or down a slope or wall.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
How about a post and wire trellis along the left hand side?
You could have it to whatever height you choose depending on the size of the posts. Make sure that they are securely fixed into the ground (with postcrete for example), and then screw in some strong vine eyes to attatch the wires to.
This is my selected list of clematis to put on ground. Rest I might leave in pots or give away or think about them after i have planted everything else.
Posts
Don't want to rain on your parade Newb, but to give your clematis the best chance of showing themselves off, it's wise to give them adequate room. Rouge Cardinal and Etoile Violette alone will each cover 6 to 8 feet of fence or more, given the right conditions. Forty feet ( eighty in total) isn't a lot of distance for that quantity of plants. You need to be able to reach them for pruning and tying in too, and they'll need a lot of watering and feeding, especially if you have other planting around them. Make sure they all have the right aspect too - Nelly Moser, for instance, looks dreadful in too much sunlight - it needs a shadier spot. Some are happy anywhere but dark ones ( generally) bleach in too much sun and don't look so good.
Clematis are heavy once they've matured, so make sure whatever support you have will do the job. If your fence isn't sound, concrete new posts in and attach trellis - that's probably the best option. Attach wires to the posts if trellis is too expensive, but make sure it's decent stuff, nicely spaced for attaching stems, and well secured.
You could put some of the smaller ones on obelisks but you'll have to tie them in round those as they grow, to get the best from them. Don't make the mistake of just letting them grow vertically.
Hope I haven't put you off - they're among the most rewarding plants if given the right attention and care, but they can look poor if they don't get it
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I've had Ernest Markham in a large pot for years now and its doing really well .....so thats only 23 you have to find border space for now
@Fairygirl,
Thank you. You havent put me off. These are the advises I need really.
@chicky,
Thanks - Ernest Markham and Arabella are staying in pots. Since there are two Arabella, I now have to think about 21 only
Just another thought Newb - I have a timber screen in my garden which has a clematis on it, although it wasn't built just to put plants on. You could do something similar and divide your garden by putting a couple of small screens across the plot ( at ninety degrees to the boundary fences) which would enable you to get a few more in the ground. It could be symmetrical - with a gap in the middle, or you could offset them to give a more winding route down the garden. They could be just a few feet wide, or eight/ten feet, depending on the width you have to play with.
If there's room, you don't need to stop at just two either...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
bumping for more ideas.
The green areas i made are where i want to plant clematis. I have narrowed it down to 9 group-3 and 3 group-2 clematis. So a total of 12 to plant.
My limitations are - not much diy experience, lady with average strength, fence is ok but cant take load of so many clematis, budget it around £500.
plus points is - i dont mind loosing the lawn eventually
Last edited: 06 January 2017 11:16:45
Have a look at using concrete posts designed to hold washing lines. They have ready drilled holes through which you can stretch wires at intervals to support your clems. They'd need concreting in for strength and permanence.
Failing that, use tall 4" wooden posts concreted in and drill holes thru those for wires.
You can make a simple pergola by putting matching posts opposite each other and then scrwing more posts across them at the top. Join them with more wires to get a tunnel effect.
I find group 2 clems can be treated as group 3s which makes pruning and combining them easier. Just make sure they are all buried deeper than they were in their pots and feed them generously every spring after pruning them back and pulling off all the old wood. This way you will also reduce the potential weight of your clematis and they will all flower over the summer months.
Arabella is not a self clinging clem and can be sprawled - with guidance - thru a shrub or allowed to flop about as ground cover or down a slope or wall.
How about a post and wire trellis along the left hand side?
You could have it to whatever height you choose depending on the size of the posts. Make sure that they are securely fixed into the ground (with postcrete for example), and then screw in some strong vine eyes to attatch the wires to.
Edit:
Obelixx beat me to it.
Last edited: 06 January 2017 11:30:29
thanks. You mean post like this
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Easi-15-Incised-Timber-Fence-Post-75-x-75mm-x-2-1m/p/542002
and material like this to secure it to ground
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Postcrete-20kg/p/221100
One question about wires, do they not get all loose when you remove vines at the end of season?
This is my selected list of clematis to put on ground. Rest I might leave in pots or give away or think about them after i have planted everything else.
Group-3
warsaw nike
Viticella Etoile Violette
voluceau
Niobe
Romantika
Jackmanii
Ernest Markham
rouge cardinal
dark eyes
And group-2 ones
Nelly Moser
Mevrouw Le Coultre'
arctic queen