the viorna group is unusual in that instead of having lots in common, these vines differ in cultivation and appearance. They can be woody vines, sub -shrubs, or more like herbaceous perennials, some need damp soil, some like it hot and dry, and for the most part they all have at least one fussy requirement that needs your attention for them to grow well in a garden setting. I know this is supposed to be about easy to grow plants, but some of these requirements might fit right in with  your garden conditions which will of course make them easier to grow.

interesting fact; many of our native ( to the US ) species of clematis get lumped here including texensis, c. crispa, c adisonii, c. pitcheri, c. viorna c. glaucophylla and c. reticulata   reminding us yet again that just because a plant is native doesn’t mean it will grow either well or easily in your yard.

let’s talk about one of the most beautiful yet frustrating, c. texensis . Clematis texensis is a beautiful bright red and has been used in breeding to attain variations of the color . You will not find the straight species anywhere in retail nurseries as it is most difficult to propagate and rare even among collectors. The hybrids of texensis, however, are often found for sale and are bear striking flowers on the reddish pink side . A few well known varieties are

Duchess of Albany

(image from Brushwood Nurseries where you can purchase many of these plants)

Princess Diana (image from RHS)

Princess Kate (image from crocusuk)

and Gravetye Beauty

All of these vines are  susceptible to powdery mildew which will discolor and eventually defoliate the vines. I tried for years to get Gravetye Beaty to look good in the garden , alas,  this year I gave up and ripped my two vines out before I could change my mind and I really feel good about that decision. It became such an eye sore no matter what I tried and although I loved the flowers , that just wasn’t enough to warrant keeping them. I have had much better luck with Princess Diana and the Duchess of Albany, I would choose these for easy care plants if grown in full sun.

(For clarity I will make what seems like a stupid statement here, clematis texensis gets put in the Viorna group yet  most of it’s hybrids are in the Texensis group. No one said this was easy lol)

Clematis viorna  (AKA vasevine, leather flower) is a species that is highly variable in form and flower and due to some on going field research being done is about to get split into many new species and sub species .  I waiver in my loyalty to either lumping the species together as they currently are (making it easier to remember and ID )and splitting them up which requires me to learn more names but is better for accuracy.

c. viorna has adorable leathery pinkish bells and spectacular feathery seed heads and can be quite vigorous  (read:easy)

C.crispa, is sometimes called Swamp leather flower , and that will give you a clue what differentiates this one from the group….water. Unlike mot clematis , It likes wet soil and can even tolerate being water logged which would kill it’s cousins. . If you have a spot that meets this requirement I would rate this plant as easy to grow. It sports recurved white-lilac bells and the vine tends to be pretty open and sparse.  The one thing clematis is the viorna group definitely share is the adorableness of their flowers. Petite and sweet.

Photo again from Brushwood. I did finally dare to plant this clematis here in my dry sandy soil, it is right next to the hose and and although not flowering yet , it is alive and growing , fingers crossed.

Clematis odoriba is a cross between viorna and crispa. It is and extremely free flowering vine  whose intense pink flowers face slightly upward making them a wonderful addition to my back arbors where we can see the top-most blooms over the fence.  I adore this vine, it is ignored out back and is thriving in neglect .

the crappy picture is from my phone which usually does a better job.

Another from this group I grow here is clematis fusca, which as soon as I figure out just what it is looking for to bloom and be happy I will let you know. So far every location and soil amendment etc I have tried has just shown me what makes it sulk and die back. I look forward to seeing the very unusual flowers in the garden as opposed to plant catalogs

So keep in mind, if you have wet or heavy rich soil , try clematis crispa.

Baking sun?? plant   any of the c. texenis hybrids

If you have average soil you can easily grow c. viorna and c. odoriba.

and if you successfully grow c. fusca, congrats to you!  Please fill me in on what it likes, I am all ears!!!

now this is a very interesting bunch of clematis given how unlike the typical , or I should say  most well known varieties,look. Instead of thin twiney and grabby vines, the shrubby  heracleifolias have relatively  large leaves, thicker stems,  and a extremely lax way of growing ,

They have no modified petioles to climb with so you can either 1.) tie them onto a support 2.) tie the vines to each other to make it look like a shrub ( whence they will resemble a hydrangea bush) or 3.) let them do as they will and sprawl into the garden or better yet down over a wall.

Here in the burrow I do all three . When letting them find their own way into the garden though, i do find I need to help a little with some careful redirection given that they emerge and really get going after many of the herbaceous perennials are filled out and they need to have their position adjusted so they are either in the middle of or under the other plants and no one gets smothered by all that lovely foliage.

What makes growing this group of clematis so easy is that they are more like the herbaceous perennials in the garden and die back to the ground every winter making pruning a cinch. The leaves are untroubled by the browning and dying off that other clematis are notorious for, instead holding on to their lush green coloring all season long , and they tolerate dry conditions very well.

They bloom in the latter part of summer, August into September and their little white, purple or blueish bell or star shaped flowers ( reminiscent of hyacinths) are a welcome sight when the garden need a pick me up,

Clematis stans is one in this group that you need to grow from seed.  I have never it seen sold  as a plant , but the seeds are  easy to germinate and will flower either that year or at the latest in it’s second. The late-great Christopher Llyoyd famously described this clematis as “bearing flowers of a spitefully non contributory off-white skimmed milk coloring”. High praise indeed!  It just goes to reaffirm a lesson we all need to hear in this day, that you can adore many parts of a person  ( in this case bordering on worship) and still disagree with them on certain things. Given that c. stans is very variable in it’s flower color and fragrance , it is worth sowing a few to see what you get.

This one I started last spring is flowering and looks more lilac colored and is highly fragrant, reminiscent of lilies.

One clematis in this group I recommend all the time is Mrs. Robert Brydon. (click name to read my plant profile )

Mrs. Robert Brydon, with it’s fancy name,  is more widely available than the other heracleifolias (I have even seen it at big box stores ) and has the same clean and green foliage as others in this group.

The  flowers grow on short stalks in clusters and are lovely both in bud and when open,

buds of Mrs. Robert Brydon

the further open the flowers get,  the more the stamens protrude  in a little mini firework display. This one wins a cuteness award.

The last clematis  in this group I grow is  it has petite  urn shaped flowers that are said to be highly fragrant, my plant has yet to bloom (although it looks beautiful and healthy) so I will leave you with a tease and a promise to post photo when it does for you to enjoy, a promise I wish could make you about the scent , maybe someday it will bloom on an Open Day.

next week we talk viornas including many of our natives, stay tuned!

there are a few weeks here when the bloom of many clematis plants overlap. Some are just finishing, some just gathering steam, and all combining together to make the garden look fantasitic. Here are some shots of who is bringin’ it today.
ps..we got rain! It wasn’t a lot, but it did give me time to do other things instead of watering and that felt darn nice!

Star River opening

pagoda

a very young ville de lyon

Polish SPirit on the new fence

etoilee violette in crabapple tree

etoille violette

comtesse de bouchaud

Betty corning

c. roguchi

Betty Corning

either Rosemoor or Niobe

Polish Spirit on bench arbor

bud of integrifolia ‘Rosea’

Star River

Elsa Spaeth

Huldine

Gravetye Beauty

sold to me as c. hexapetala but probably c.recta

Isn’t it funny how sometimes when two things are paired up together  the whole is greater than the sum of  it’s parts? This holds true for   Cheryl and Bill ( a superb pairing if I do say so myself lol, our 26th anniversary was Thursday), beer and pretzels, pinot grigiot and seafood dishes, any dessert topped with made from scratch whipped cream, and boy I am hungry and in need of drink! I am sure Aristotle, from whom this quote was taken, had far more altruistic things in mind, but I have no problem borrowing his phrase and applying it to my own happiness, including the over the top pairing of roses and clematis.

Right now both plants are secondary stars in the garden as the peonies are blooming and no bloom no how takes away from their little bomb of joy. But when roses and clematis  are growing intertwined and cozy they certainly stand heads and shoulders above their counterparts growing alone.

Here are a few pictures of rose/clematis combinations I use here  in the Burrow

.

.

.

.

.

I am also including a glam shot of  some of the  peonies  because , well ,they deserve their moment of fame.

On the pairing side you can see one paired up with sweet peas, a stellar combo  I will repeat.

Furthermore , because who can get enough of great plant pairings?? , I give you

a container with coral Magic carpet rose and Lucia Dark Blue lobelia

Double pink Knockout roses grown as a standard above a boxwood hedge

 and that same rose underplanted with this bright smiley orange pansy

and last a peony ( unknown division given to me  by my sister) growing with nepata ( the clematis to the right is c.texensis’Gravetye Beauty)

happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Head on over to maydreamsgardens.com to see what going on in other great gardens!

Hard to believe that we are back in the swing of things so quickly around here. Lazy snow bound days are gone , replaced by full 8 or more hour days cleaning, cutting back, weeding, edging , mulching, dividing, planting, sowing, shopping…are there any  – INGS that I missed?  I hope not because my plate already feels pretty full thank you very much.

Let’s talk about clematis, how they should look, what you should expect and what to do if there are problems.

First , the emergence thing. Around here we have had some delightfully warm weather so any clematis that are group 2 ( which I won’t even come near with clippers untl after the first flush of blooms) are all leafing out and I even have two , Elsa Spath and Omishoro , covered in ready to open buds.

If you have group two clematis growing in your New England yard , you should be seeing lots of signs of life . If  you see stems that are definitly dead or broken off the mama plant, by all means prune them. otherwise WALK AWAY and wait to enjoy the show. Pruning now, no matter how tempting, will cause loss flowers and that is a sad thing indeed.

If you have group 1 clematis , like montana or alpina, they should also be ready to put on their spring show. I struggle with these vines here becuase they bloom only on old wood and almost every year no matter what I do the varmints cut them off for me in the winter.  Some day  a solution will occur in my little brain, but for now they are foliage plants. grrr and ugh.

If you have group 3 clematis that bloom later on in the season , many of these are just slowly starting to stretch and yawn and greet the day ( sweet autumn, any of the viticella or texensis hybrids, and the late blooming large flowered hybrids ) .If you have not already, cut your group 3 clematis down to about a foot tall so they will throw out lots of new growth which is where their blooms  will be, Leaving them unpruned will result in long vines with flowers only at the tops. Boring! Go get the clippers please.

Herbaceous clematis , the ones that die back to the ground and have no climbing mechanism, should also be showing new growth by now ( c. recta, integrefolia, and heracliefolia).  Clean away any old stems and leaves just like you would with any other herbaceous perennial.

Then there are those whose liveliness is in question,   I have a few here every year that are way behind their peers in  emerging and I always get a little antsy. But then I remember someone telling me when my kids were little and I was stressed when they were not on par with others their age in milestones ( especially the  dreaded potty training) that all kids developed at their own pace and as long as they were out of diapers by the time they went to school I should not fret so much. Point taken, there are no absolutes in any aspect of life, so a little  leeway is in order.

Carefully look around the base of the plant in question , do you see any sign of shoots coming from the soil? You can prod  little in the soil and look closer, but do do very gently. I give my lackluster growers a little diluted fertilizer . Patience is also helpful.

Case in point, I had given up on my c. trinternata rubrimarginata for this year.  Two years ago  we had an episode where the irrigation system was missing a whole chunk of garden and many plants there were lost. The rubrimarinata was alive, but barely clinging to life , and this year repeated checks showed no growth. I ordered a replacement, and of course when I dug down deep enough to excavate, there was the crown of the old plant happily starting to shoot out new growth. A little swearing may have ensued, but I carried on and took out the struggling plant, put in the new one, and move the stressed one to a happy compost filled location where it will be babied until it is thriving again.

As for any clematis you have that overwintered in containers or that are growing in shady locations,  don’t even bother poking around just yet. They are the last of the bunch to re-emerge , but just wait, don’t touch and don’t worry.

It is also safe here to plant any new clematis you bought now. Make sure to follow my planting instructions ( crown set 2-3 inches below soil line before mulching) , and water them if rainfall is not abundant.

Last but not least my indoor clematis, c.florida is entering week 18 of flowering. I had to trim some of it today to free up some of the houseplants it was engulfing so they could get repotted for their summer vacation outsoors. Truthfully, I had to wash the window it was covering too so we could see outside . When it ever winds dowm I will cut it back and repot it like the other plants to spend the summer  season on the porch.

…Oh yes you can!

Given my perfectly well founded frustration with houseplants, I find it  just delightful to discover that clematis can be grown indoors. Thanks to clematis breeder Ray Envision, there are now clematis plants that are as equally happy indoors as out. Ray and his team have a  new-ish series called “Garland Clematis” that will happily sit on your south facing sunny windowsill and twist and twine and then bloom profusely for about 8 weeks IN THE WINTER! How awesome is that.

There is another series, designed for compact growth  and ideal for indoor growing as well, called the “Boulevard Series”, that will  bloom indoors in the winter, but then it is suggested that you cut them back and plant them outdoors in the spring for the best results.

The only bump in the road, as these plants are very easy to care for as long as they are getting enough sun, is availability.

If you lived in the UK, Ray would happily ship you lovely pots of clematis in bud/bloom for your indoor growing pleasure. If you live stateside, it is a crapshoot as to where and if you may find them.

Often Dan over at Brushwood  Vines will usually have one or more in his catalogue listings. The downside of ordering them from here is they are not shipped as in bud/bloom house plants so you must pot them up with a small obelisk or other structure and grow them on yourself.

Many years around Mother’s Day I have seen them in local florists to be sold as gift plants, although they are usually only  clematis florida. Clematis florida is a pretty small climber, usually topping out at  6 ft and staying pretty slender as clematis vines go. The lovely pearly tepals seem to be at odds with the very prominent and “in your face” dark purple stamens and anthers, which also curve inwardly  resembling a spider that has recently gone on to meet it’s maker ( as seen in the Monroe basement on a regular basis).

Currently, clematis florida is making a winter statement in the Monroe picture window where it has been left to it’s own devices to twine around whatever it can grab on to. It has a friend, a bare root start that was not ready for planting in the ground this year ( and whose identity I have forgotten) that has joined in the twining fun but has yet to form buds. In the spring the “friend” will get planted in the garden, but clematis florida is best as an indoor or conservatory plant so it will summer out on the porch and return , as it did this September, to the family room.

I have found that the early bloomers, like clematis macropletala and clematis alpina will generally bloom indoors around the same time they would bloom outdoors which would be in very very early spring, providing  a great boost to your winter weary spirits .You can see Queen of the Houseplant-Tovah Martin’s clematis here.

No matter which variety you try,you can be sure any clematis blooming indoors will remind you wistfully of warm summer days , even if you currently have your face pressed against a cold window pane staring out at new fallen snow 🙂