Clematis

Posted on by curioussteph

Before I bought my house 30 years ago, I had never heard of clematis. My house was new; I was starting from dirt in terms of landscaping. That first spring, my brother and I built a deck I had designed, and I was talking with some of the folks at my office about my plan to grow morning glories up its latticed sides. One of the nurses suggested I use clematis instead, as it was a perennial that needed little care.

I visited some local nurseries, read some gardening books (this was before I had a home computer and internet access) and decided that clematis was a fine idea. I bought a plant, planted it and off it went. It did live up to its billing, providing ample greenery and a summer long display of purple flowers for many years. The old redwood deck was replaced a few years back by a low maintenance composite one, and the clematis was lost during the remodel.

By the following summer, BA and I were clear that we missed having a clematis. A few were planted along a border fence, but never thrived, I think the neighbor’s trees provided too much shade. Last summer, I found a plant on clearance at a big box store and said what the heck. I brought it home, planted it next to our front porch, and it did okay. Last summer was just about getting the plant established, some green growth and a grand total of two flowers.

This spring, its a different story. The vine is vigorous, rapidly outstripping last year’s growth, and appearing healthy and strong. Buds appeared, and I’ve been waiting. Two mornings ago, there were no blossoms. This morning, they have burst open, in all their purple glory. I anticipate that I’ll be enjoying them all summer.

Clematis comes in a number of varieties. This plant and its predecessor are C. Jackmanii, one of the earliest and hardiest varieties. Its disease resistant, heat and cold tolerant, and once established, needs very little water or maintenance. Perfect for our Colorado climate.

clematis

clematis closer
Today’s blooms. I find it interesting that the number of petals on the blossoms varies, todays photos show blooms with 4, 5 and 6 petals.

For Ragtag Daily Prompt #7: Purple

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17 thoughts on “Clematis”

  3. We had a magnificent clematis that grew all the way up a basketball pole. Unfortunately for the clematis and us, a tree fell on the pole and it never grew back. It is a beautiful flower. I love that color, too.

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  8. I love the clematis. I had a spot that I tried it out at and it never took. I now have a thriving honeysuckle there. So, this year, I have decided to try again, but in a different spot, so far so good. Yours looks wonderful!

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Published by curioussteph

June 2017: I started writing Curioussteph.com with this: By day, I'm a retired family physician turned body-oriented psychotherapist. I garden, travel, am owned by 2 elderly cats, figure skate and am training for my first triathlon. April 2020: Three years later, the two elderly cats have crossed the rainbow bridge, and we now have an 11 year old adoptee, Ziggy. I'm done with triathlon and skating for the time being, and I am still physically active, running, biking and walking. It's now the time of the coronavirus, which is affecting us all.