Clematis is very popular in Canada

Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

The clematis vine is an all around winner for the garden. It is a climbing vine with many varieties that are hardy in our zone and is a prolific grower each season in our area. It is an attractive plant when it is just a vine of leaves but the best reward is its abundance of simple but extraordinarily beautiful flowers and as a special bonus once the flowers fade and the petals drop off the vine you are left with very attractive seed heads that often last the whole winter on the vine. The vines are perennial and many varieties will flower for at least a month but many varieties can bloom for much of July and August. You can also trim the flowering vine to use as a cut flower in a vase.
The clematis is available in many colours. The colours include red, rose, pink, purple, blue, white and yellow. There are many shades of pink and purple to choose from. Purple ranges from a dark violet (C. ‘Jacmanii’) to pale shades of lavender. Hybrids of dark red, almost burgundy can be found ranging in shades right down to pale pinks. Most striking are the bicolour flowers that have a dark stripe of contrasting colour starting at the centre and continuing out almost to the end of the petals.
Regardless of which variety you choose the clematis continues to be the most popular perennial vine in all of Canada. The clematis requires a location in your garden where it will receive full sun for at least 4 -6 hours per day, fading to partial shade the rest of the day. They will thrive in a location that receives sun most of the day as well. What most gardeners do not know is that even though the clematis likes to have full sun shining on its upper vine portion, it likes the root area of the plant to remain cool. At first thought you may think that this is tricky to achieve but there are a few ways of protecting the roots from heat, while the upper plant enjoys the heat of the sun.
1. The easiest way of shading the roots of your clematis is with a good mulch product. Bark or wood chips would be best for this purpose. When applying the mulch, apply it at least twice as thick at the base of the clematis (for about 18 inches diameter around the plant base) as the mulch that you have applied in the rest of your garden. If your vine has southern exposure the mulch method may not offer enough protection from the intense heat throughout the whole day so you may want to try one of the other methods listed.
2. Another way of effectively shading the roots of a clematis is with other plants planted in front of the base of the clematis. In areas where you have partial shade, a Hosta will keep the roots cool quite easily. Other shade tolerant plants like lungwort, bistort, astilbe, bleeding heart, or primroses, just to name a few, will also be very effective. If you are in a full sun location you may have to use one of the many varieties of sedum or ground cover plants like ajuga, eidleweiss, lamium, pinks, creeping thyme, creeping phlox or other sun-loving plants like shasta daisy, coneflower, blanket flower, daylilies to protect the roots from the heat. The possibilities are quite endless just use your imagination and you can create some really spectacular combinations, keeping in mind that you do not want to place a plant in front of your clematis that will hide it completely. You can also use annual flowers so you will have flowers present at the base of the clematis for the entire season but remember to you will have to replant your annuals each season.
3. Another option is to place a large rock or series of rocks in front of the base of the clematis. You can create a mini rock garden if you want and add some creeping perennials as well. If you prefer, a large pot or planter filled with annuals can also be used.
Because the clematis is a vine, another requirement for this perennial is a support system in your garden for the tendrils of the vine to climb on. A clematis needs only some initial coaxing to start to climb on the support system of choice, when the plant is young then it will easily find its way as it grows. Because a clematis has the potential to grow up to ten feet in height and ten feet wide, depending on variety, you want to select a sturdy support system. When choosing a trellis or other type of support system it is better to choose a system that will give you solid support over a weaker system that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye because he vine may cover any intricate detail your system may have as it matures. One really neat trick is to attach a piece of garden netting or string up the trunk of the tree without damaging the tree and let the clematis climb its way up the trunk. Make sure that the vine doesn’t wrap itself tightly around the trunk or branches so it chokes off the tree, but uses the branches and bark as support. This is a really neat effect to create a “flowering tree”. You can also combine one or more varieties of clematis for a spectacular show and combination of colours.
A clematis vine can live for up to 15-20 years so when planting in your garden make sure that you are happy with its location. Once established on its support and has developed a complex root system below ground it can be difficult to mo#ve. The clematis is a perennial that doesn’t tolerate dividing. It is very difficult to divide an established plant without inflicting a great deal of damage to both the roots and the upper vine.
A clematis is quite easy to care for and maintain. It usually doesn’t need any special attention in our area but I do know some gardeners like to put a layer of straw at the base of the roots each fall to help protect the root system. This isn’t usually necessary unless you have planted a variety that is only hardy to Zone 5 instead of Zone 4. Some varieties need pruning and others don’t so a follow up column will categorize the varieties available for our zone and take the mystery out of the correct pruning methods.
With these handy tips about clematis and the follow-up column on effective pruning you do not have any excuse to not add a clematis to your garden right a way. This vine will add height, texture and colour all at once.