Hartley Magazine

All the latest news, hints, tips and advice from our experts

Clematis ‘can still be planted in hot weather’

When out and about finding new plants to add to a garden, it would be perfectly understandable for keen green-fingered enthusiasts to be attracted to something that is not currently in season.

Needless to say, this can lead to problems upon returning home, as nobody wants to see their new wildlife start to wilt straight away.

However, careful management of the conditions the plant is exposed to can make this much less of a problem – and greenhouses are clearly perfect for individuals in this position.

The Clematis is a genus that is made of around 300 different species and is consistently popular among gardeners. It is a particularly versatile option in some respects. Most of the species are hardy up to the US Department of Agriculture's zone three.

Somewhere in the region of 50 of these species are hybrids and the name of the genus comes from an Ancient Greek word that means climbing plant – and this was probably used in reference to a periwinkle.

Most clematis vines are able to adorn a garden with large and showy flowers that can grow in a wide range of colors.

The San Francisco Chronicle warns that they will die in winter, which can leave a large and unattractive brown vine in the garden – so they are best relocated to greenhouses. This can allow the plants to grow all year long.

In an article for the Daily Telegrpah across the pond in the UK, professional gardener and writer Helen Yemm advised planting them in a hole that is at least one-and-a-half times as deep as the plastic pot they come in, as well as being ideally more than twice as wide.

"Planting clematis is always a big performance, since it really is important to pep up quite a large area of soil – these are not plants that do well if you shoehorn them quickly into tight spaces," the expert commented, adding: "Plant at least 12 inches (30 cm) away from the canopy of your host shrub, preferably where it will be shaded by it from the sun."

"Mulch around the plant with more compost and, as a precaution, apply a barrier," Ms Yemm advised, adding that "a few slug pellets around the plant" can also work very effectively.

After this, she suggested leaving supporting bamboo canes in place until the plant has begun to climb into a host shrub.