Thursday, June 25, 2009

Clematis Trivia

This is a picture of another Clematis that grows beside my front steps. I had a lady drive up in the yard and ask if it was real. When it was fully open, I called it my caskit piece because of it's size and the way it covered the entire foiliage.
It took me several years to be able to grow a Clematis. I would buy them in the spring, baby them and do everything I knew to do with them. They died. I bet I've laid at least a dozen or more to rest at one point or another.

One Wednesday night after Bible Study, I was lamenting my latest dead Clematis and a visiting minister's wife overheard my conversation. She said she had also had problems growing this particular flower and like me, she thought they were just beautiful.

She told me that an older lady had given her a piece of advice that had allowed her to have a yard full of them for years. She simply told her to 'keep their feet cool'. So, short of putting ice cubes on the roots, I figured the best thing was to pile as much mulch around the roots as possible. And that's exactly what I did. And it worked.

If you've never grown these flowers, try them. You'll get lots of compliments.

Hope you are staying cool on this very warm Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

5 comments:

Laura ~Peach~ said...

they are beautiful... how do you keep their feet cool in 90 plus temps...

Twisted Fencepost said...

That is a beautiful flower. Almost looks artificial. I can see where the question comes from.
Thanks for the advice!!

Lena . . . said...

Beautiful clematis. I have been quite successful in growing them here in the Northland and at this point have 5 of them that are blooming. My mother told me the same thing - keep their feet cool. I don't pile anything on their roots, just make sure I have a low growing plant in front of them so that their roots are in the shade. Keep up the good work.

Flea said...

My sis-in-law's clematis are gorgeous. They're growing under and around a tree.

Leslie said...

I have had problems trying to grow these too. I will try both yours and Lena's advice. Thanks

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