Hi to all, I am completely new to gardening and I think I killed my clematis. I cut off the big (in diameter) stick parts which looked like last years dead parts and well as I now know it is living all year long, there are no "dead" parts. Anyway, I can't glue it back together so I guess you could call it very harsh pruning. What can I do to try to save it now that the damage is done? I feel horrible! Thank you dearly for any advice you can give me.
I'm certainly not a gardening expert but I do have several clematis - the first year I planted them I too thought it was "dead" by early winter, I trimmed it back to the ground thinking I was cutting off all the dead parts -- it grew back better that spring, no damage to it. I don't know if this always happens or if I was lucky but this is the fourth year that it has been growing and it is better than ever! I now have 5 of the plants all different colors.
I did this as well when I was in Alberta. Clematis are pretty tough, they can take a good solid beating, particularly the cultivars that will survive on the prairies. In my case I had a row of clematis vines, and I was cleaning undergrowth and didn't realize I'd even cut some of the vines off at the base until too late. Some of them grew back, some of them did not. The ones that did grow back were in a nice sunny spot, the ones that did not grow back were probably choked out by the most aggressive flowering plant I've ever seen... Columbine! Just water and care for the clematis and it will hopefully recover. If it was one of the more tender varieties that you see out here on the coast, it may not survive. I don't know for sure.
I sure hope it is a cultivar...I need to look that up. Thanks for your quick response. I hope it makes it. We just moved into this house and this is my first experience with this garden...with any garden.
It is very hard to kill a clematis. I have 25 clematis and started growing them years ago with no knowledge about them. I haven't killed one yet. However, 3 yrs. ago I rescued one from a nursery with only one stem. It came off its support and snapped off at the base. It didn't grow back that year or the next. I dug down as I was going to plant something else in its place but discovered the clematis still alive. I covered it up again and left it. A few weeks ago a shoot popped up out of the ground. So, be patient and leave it alone - it will come back eventually. Different clematis have different pruning methods. If you let me know which clematis you have, I'll let you know how to prune it - when it reappears! Greenfingers
Thank you so much for your advice. If or when it blooms I will be able to tell which clematis it is. We just moved here in November so I have no idea what is actually in the ground. Sylvia
Many of the clematis stems will appear dead, but they are not. Always wait until they have leafed out somewhat before cutting back. I only clean mine up every 4-5 years. All the Cleamtis ask for is shade for the roots.
wow, I have learned a bit from this page about clemantis that I didn't know. Guess I should never trim off anything that looks dead until late spring after anything that should have grown would have! Karen karensquilting.com
In previous years, I never pruned my clematis enough, which resulted in fewer blooms. Last year I decided to give it a good hack (within a foot from the soil) which resulted in an abundance of blooms. This year I cut it back even further, and WOW! It must already be 12' tall! Don't worry, just wait for the buds to arrive.
And if it really doesn't come back (and most clematis are now in growth, so if you just did this you should be seeing new growth pretty soon), Clematis are not that expensive and many varieties readily available at local garden centres.
sylgardener, I'm sure by now you will be seeing new shoots on your clematis and feel a lot better after all the reassurance you've had from these posts. There are 3 different pruning methods for clematis depending on the type of clematis - whether it flowers on new wood or old. If yours is the type that flowers on old wood, you won't get any flowers this year. However, whatever kind it is, you should see lots of new shoots coming from the ground after you've given it such a hard pruning. All clematis, whatever their pruning group, should be cut back to 12ins. the first year and 18ins. the second year if you want to end up with a healthy, bushy plant. However, if you cut back an older plant, it won't do it any harm, in fact, it should grow bigger and better but will not necessarily flower that year. For those who are interested, if you go to <www.clematisontheweb> this is an excellent site which lists almost every available clematis with lots of information.
Thank you so much...I am seeing some new shoots but also a few shoots and leaves have been munched on my something, yikes...anyway I love this forum and all the advice that I have been getting. Thanks again.
Probably getting munched on by slugs or snails. I suggest putting out a small dish with beer in it. I use empty canned cat food tins about half full of beer, tipped or buried so that the slugs can get into the beer. If it is snails, keep an eye out and pluck em off when you see them. It could also be aphids, but they usually don't munch down on the stems.
I think you might be right about the snails. We have lots in our yard. They seem to like the peonie tree. I will keep an eye out for them on my clematis. Thank you
