Week 3 - Year 1: The Clematis Files

I bought two Clematis plants with the hope of having them climb the spindles on our deck. So far, it has not been very successful. I think they could be on the brink of death, which is most definitely a product of my inexperience more than anything else. They might also just be ill suited for container gardening.

Week 1: May 15

Left: Cardinal Clematis

Right: Viticella Clematis

I planted both plants in large plastic containers (that drain well) in container potting soil based on instructions I obtained from a Clematis society. However, we did not get a lot of sun that week and the stems became brittle and the leaves started to die off to the point where I was afraid both plants were dying.

Week 2: May 21

Major surgery was required as it became clear that the ends of both plants were dead. So, I cut both down to the live growth. I also moved both into sunnier locations.

Week 3: May 29

I added peat moss to both containers to help spark growth and feeding.

I'm starting to see some new growth again, but it's slow going. I'm not sure whether these guys are going to make it or not, but I kind of figured this experiment would not be 100% successful.

I was really hoping I could get something to climb the deck spindles on the deck and I am disappointed that neither of these plants has been successful, but it's only been a couple weeks, so time will tell. However, the Black Eyed Susan vines are flourishing, so this may be a case of the containers. I knew it would be risky to plant Clematis in containers, so if these don't make it, we may just have to wait until we have a house to continue with the Clematis experiment.

I don't plan to post twice a day (or even once a day), but my husband wants to start his own blog and begged me to post another so that he could see how I did it (not that I'm the expert in this area by any means).