Hello Fellow Gardeners,

The secret to success with clematis is to find one that grows well in your zone! Other than that simply follow my nine steps listed below, we made them easy to print out so that you can carry it outside with you and use it as a recipe for great clematis!

Step 1

Dig a hole as deep as the pot your clematis came in and three times as wide!

Step 2

Add gravel to the bottom of the hole. About 2 inches should allow good drainage.

Step 3

Amend the soil! Your amended soil should be half manure or compost and half of the original soil. Also add in 2 cups of bone meal.

You can use rose fertilizer or tomato fertilizer to feed your clematis!

Step 4

Bury the plant 6 inches below the original soil line.

Step 5

Sprinkle super phosphate on top!

Step 6

Add a trellis or stick so your clematis will have something to climb up. Any kind of support will do.

Step 7

Water often and water deep! Make sure your clematis gets at least one inch of water a week!

Step 8

Clematis like their feet cool and their head in the sun. To help keep soil cool, provide the clematis with a ground cover. Many plants can serve as ground cover, for example geraniums, phlox, veronicas, artemisia, etc. You can also use lime rock as a ground cover as well, and it has the added benefit of providing your clematis with a continuous supply of much needed lime!

Step 9

Once your clematis is planted you must pinch it back to a double set of buds. This will help the root grow at the same rate as the top of the plant. For small alpine clematis, make sure to do this for two years in a row, for the large flower clematis only pinch back for one year.

You can plant a clematis in the Spring when the soil is workable (i.e. thawed out) but it is recommended that you plant them in the fall for best results.

For extra information I recommend checking out Ketzel Levine’s Talking Plants and Garden Action.

Miss Ketzel has a wonderful tip I just have to share with all of you…

Ketzel Levine tip:

“Believe it or not, you can actually bury your clematis up to its lowest leaf node — even if there’s a foot of vine before the first leaf! Your reward: a bigger beefier plant that will undoubtedly have more than one stem, which is the final, ultimate, hidden key to the perfect clematis vine.”

Stay tuned for my next article on how to prevent disease in clematis and the warning signs to watch for!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne

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