Young clematis

joannahull79 · May 2017

I have recently planted this hybrid clematis and noticed some of the stems look dead. Should I cut these stems down and should I also deadhead the flowers?

thanks

Fairygirl · May 2017

No need to deadhead Joanna - in fact , many clematis have very attractive seedheads, but you'll find the petals will discolour and drop off by themselves usually.

You can take off any stems where the foliage is brown - back to a pair of buds or a leaf joint. There's been a lot of cold, dry, frosty weather recently almost everywhere in the country, and any new soft growth on clematis can be affected by that. As the weather warms up, it'll come away again.

As you've just planted it, it may have made it a bit more vulnerable if the weather suddenly turned chilly, and it's trying to establish. If it was grown or kept undercover prior to that, that won't have helped.

Just make sure it doesn't dry out for now - a good mulch after watering will also help - but try and water when the weather is favourable (ie no frost forecast) if possible until it really gets going.

joannahull79 · May 2017

Thank you, that's really helpful. Does it matter that some of the stems are brown and dry from the base?

Fairygirl · May 2017

Not really Joanna - more will grow from below ground as the plant matures. It's beneficial when planting clematis to plant a bit deeper than they are in the pot. Different from most plants in that respect, but it encourages new growth from lower down, and it means that if a plant dies - or appears to die - in severe weather, it will often reappear in future.

It looks quite a big plant, and it's often just a bit tricky to get them established readily as the roots haven't got quite enough oomph to support all that top growth quickly. Sometimes, if a plant is a bit dry when planted, the roots don't get out properly into the surrounding soil. They can be a bit pot bound with roots going round and round and not shifting outwards. Always make sure they're nice and moist when planted, and tease out the roots a bit when putting in the planting hole

joannahull79 · May 2017

Thank you! ?

andreatbailey · May 2017

Mine was planted new last year and llooked the same plus we had a terrible fire in our garden and it was damaged by this ! I didn't want to throw it so kept it going but it looked such a sorry sight ... i cut it back I think in spring this year and it's now blooming! loads of buds .. I added another colour last year as it looked so sad with burn damage and together they seem very happy now ! But the base stems look so fragile as you've said but I think this is normal ... possibly next year yours will really be settled .

Last edited: 14 May 2017 21:25:58

joannahull79 · May 2017

Thanks andreatbailey, yours looks really healthy! xx

Fairygirl · May 2017

Bear in mind too that clematis take several years to become mature plants. Hope you've got plenty of room between those two andreatb!

Group 3 clems should always be pruned right back in late winter/early spring to encourage the new growth which carries the flowers. Group 1 and 2 clems are slightly different, needing minimal or no pruning - just tidying, so it's more important to tie in and position new growth from a young age to achieve good coverage. Always try and find out which type you have so that you can give it the best care

Etoile Violette as a young plant in July 2013, in a pot to grow on

the same plant in July 2016 - now in it's permanent home

andreatbailey · May 2017

That's absolutely beautiful!!

Hmm well i hope so ots not it's not something I thought to much about if I'm honest x still learning ?? but let's hope so x

Fairygirl · May 2017

EV is a viticella so it flowers later in the year. I have an alpina there too, which is on the fence at the right hand end of that. It's just finished flowering recently, so they make a good partnership. I have a large flowering variety further along the fence to the left which flowers just now, and there's another alpina to go (still choosing!) in between those.

They're very addictive - so make plenty of room for more!

Young clematis

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