Georgia Magazine - June 2018 - 40

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previous year's growth and should
be pruned as soon as they finish
flowering.
* Group 3: These clematis bloom on
new growth, and the flowers come
in all sizes. Although it is not required, you can prune the main
stems back to about 3 feet above
the ground in February or March.
It's important to leave at least one
pair of strong-looking buds on each
stem. This is also the time to remove any dead or weak wood.

Clematis 'Josephine'

Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

With some planning, your garden
can offer clematis blooms from spring
until fall.

when they are pruned.
It's worth noting that even without regular pruning there are dozens
of selections that will thrive in your
Georgia garden.
* Group 1: Clematis in this group
are evergreen and bloom on the
previous year's growth. Pruning
should be done as soon as they finish flowering.
* Group 2: These clematis are largeflowered and bloom from spring to
early summer. They bloom on the

Clematis 101

If you've never grown clematis or
are familiar only with the old-fashioned, evergreen Clematis armandii,
or 'Armand' clematis, it helps to
know a little bit about the different
types and how to treat them. In general terms, clematis belong to one of
three groups, based on how and

Clematis recommended for Georgia gardens
Cultivar

Bloom color

Bloom time frame

Climber

Climbing height

'Arabella'

Blue-mauve

April to
September

No; use as
ground cover

'Betty Corning'

Pale blue

May to August

Yes

8 to 10 feet

Bright pink

April to October

Yes

8 to 10 feet

'Etoile Violette'

Dark purple

April to October

Yes

10 to 13 feet

'Henryi'

White with
dark anthers

April to July

Yes

10 to 12 feet

'Josephine'

Double pink

April to September

Yes

10 to 13 feet

'Madame Julia
Correvon'

Wine red

April to September

Yes

8 feet

'Princess Diana'

Luminous pink

May to September

Yes

6 to 8 feet

'Rooguchi'

Purple

April to September

No; low-growing

3 feet

'Duchess of Albany'

More online at www.georgiamagazine.org

Cultivation and care

Broder recommends plenty of
sunshine and a moist, well-drained
soil for your clematis. She says that
the darker-colored varieties generally
need more sun, while the lighter colors, whites and bicolors like some
shade.
When Broder adds new clematis
to her garden, she uses an organic
starter fertilizer and then fertilizes
three times during the growing season: once in March as new growth
emerges, again in May and then in
August. She has found that the same
fertilizer you would use for tomatoes
or roses works well for clematis. The
most important consideration is using
a fertilizer that has a higher percentage of phosphorus than either nitrogen or potassium (N-P-K). In other
words, the middle number should be
the highest number.
Broder's passion for clematis has
grown to include native species, of
which there are 11 in Georgia. These
include one very aggressive cultivar,
Clematis virginiana, which blooms in
the fall with small, fragrant white
flowers. Its Asian counterpart, Clematis terniflora, also known as sweet autumn clematis, is also aggressive. To
prevent them from spreading by seed,
cut off the flowers after they fade.
For more information about
growing clematis, visit the International Clematis Society at clematis
international.com.
Erica Glasener is a freelance
writer and senior producer for "Growing a Greener World," airing on PBS
stations.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2018