I moved to the Cariboo 1 year ago and spent this fist year learning about my new enviroment. I have made some small formal gardens and have a small lawn around the house. The remaining acre is to be left natural with just some thinning of trees and cleaning up the underbrush. I want to encourage as many native plants as possible. This summer I found a number of beautiful blue clematis vines in the forest. Most are long and sgraggly, reaching many feet up into the trees. Can I encourage these to grow on a trellis? Can they be pruned and kept more compact, if so what time of year. Do I need to fertilize them? This is my first posting on your interesting site. Many thanks Noreen
Sounds like Clematis occidentalis. Kruckeberg's "Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest" (which might be in your local library) suggests the species: Yes, you can grow them on a trellis. No, they shouldn't need any fertilization since they are native to the site. As for pruning, I don't know, sorry.
Thank you for the information Daniel. I will try and get a copy of that book. It is a joy in the spring time to watch to wonderful variety of plants that grow in the forest. I would like to encourage them. Noreen
I would think it is a vitcella type clematis since it is growing to 15 ft or more..is this accurate? You can cut them back a bit. Fertilizing with Rose Food is the best for Clematis to flower, but not just before flowering. It seems to stop them from blooming. If there are a lot of them, cut some back hard and some 1/3. Or you can cut back part of the vines and leave the other vines on the same plant longer.
Hi Karalyn Thanks for the advice. I have found 5 plants on the property and will prune them in a variety of ways. That is correct one of the vines was climbed up a tree to about 15 feet, another I found laying along the ground and through a wood pile. It is about 6 feet long. I have put them all on trellis and mulched them for the winter. I am looking foreword to the spring. Noreen
