Clematis for 2016.

I have always enjoyed growing Clematis.  The Hagley Hybrid at the left has been growing at the front gate for about 12 years.  It gets abused quite often.  Many years I forget to prune it.  One year it was a tangled mess of sticks and I cut it off about two feet above the ground and she liked that a lot!  I provide no extra care for her other than on the really dry years I might give her a drink of water now and then.  I do call her a her because I've never seen a him that can be as pretty as her.  There are years where she has so many blooms on her that you can hardly see the leaves.  She can be gorgeous for about 4 weeks, simply covered in blooms but usually that doesn't happen.  One sunny afternoon when she is in full bloom the wind will blow 45 miles an hour and I'll watch her strip naked of all the petals that make her pretty.  You just stand and watch it happen.  But like a lot of the resilient gals I know, that spend time in the garden, she'll be back.  She's seen a lot of wind.

We have a nice selection of Clematis for Spring 2016.  Following is a list of available varieties:

Amethyst Beauty                   light purple to lavender blue flowers

Bijou                                      violet flowers

Diamantina                            fully double light blue flowers

Diana's Delight                      lavender flowers

Rebecca                                 magenta red flowers

Sapphire Indigo                     sapphire blue flowers

Candy Stripe                         lilac with a pink bar flowers

Cardinal Wyszynski             crimson flowers

Comtesse de Bouchaud        shell pink flowers.  This is one of my favorites!

Hagley Hybrid                      pink with purple anthers This gal is as resilient as your Grandma!

Henryi                                   creamy white flower

Jackmanii                              blue purple flower

The really pretty clematis that you see on the mailbox down the street is really pretty for a couple reasons.  One is simply time.  Plant a clematis and expect to enjoy it as it develops over the years. Some take more time than others to get really pretty.  Many clematis will flourish in full sun if you shade the root.  Shading the root holds moisture in place and allows the clematis to establish its roots when young.  Last but not least, dogs love to pee on them.  They create perfect form and are planted on posts, trellises, and etc.  This is where dogs love to pee.  Clematis, especially young clematis, are very sensitive to salt loads.  If your dog, or the neighbors, religiously pees on your clematis she will die. The clematis, not the dog.  No wait!  I take that back.  I know a man who weed wacked his wife's clematis and he nearly died!  I'm quite sure if he owned a dog it might not be alive today.  If you fertilize, do it once in very early spring as growth begins and a lightly a second time after the first flowering cycle has completed.