Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Clematis



Back in April, I ordered two clematis vines from Wayside Gardens. I hoped they would grow to cover an ugly vent pipe. My Grandma Frankie has such beautiful clematis vines that I couldn't see myself going another summer without their blooms. I ordered HENRYI (white blooms) and FRANZISKA MARIE (large purple bloom). The photos above are directly from the Wayside Gardens website. I received the plants in April, built a tepee trellis out of bamboo and twine, put the plants in the ground, and hoped for the best. Two-and-a-half months later, they've barely grown a lick.

Here is the vent pipe and my homemade tepee trellis:



















ZOOM IN:

HENRYI.

FRANZISKA MARIE.













I've been trying to figure out why these vines won't grow! I water them regularly. Franziska Marie gets about 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. Henryi gets about 2 hours of direct sunlight. The rest of the day, it is shady. At first I thought this spot might be too shady. Then I found this link on GardenWeb. Basically, if you want a vine that flowers in the first year, don't plant clematis. I love clematis vines and I'm going to baby these plants until I see some blooms. However for same season blooms, I should have gone with a morning glory.

In other news, have you ever wondered the true definition of a glade or a portico? I came across this link today, a glossary of Landscape Gardening and Architecture terms. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Kasmira said...

I was frustrated with my clematis the first year too. Last year, they hardly did anything. This year, they grew 15 feet and flowered their hearts out. You'll be glad you planted them next year!

Lisa Blair said...

I really think they are going to look great next year. The one bloom I got in late summer really has my hopes up about next year. Even the one gorgeous bloom was worth it!