What Do These Climbers Deserve?

A tour by Roseperson, GardenWeb member, Michigan.

Over the last few years I have been raising these fabulous climbers. I enjoy them and so do the pedestrians who walk by our home. Let me walk you thru them. Hope you will enjoy them too.

Below: This is one of my two New Dawns, this one unfortunately is a once bloomer. At the feet are seven Knock Outs bordering the Bay Window. Both varieties are trouble free.


This is the same New Dawn as above in a different shot.



This is Clematis Montana Rubens Odorata over my side entry garage door that offers a fantastic show with fragrance for a month starting around the second week in May. Further note: Clematis Montana Rubens is a Group-1 clematis that blooms early in the season only on old wood. Please note that Montana Rubens is a bit tender for Zone 5. Mine is directly under the eaves and is somewhat protected. If the last year's wood is unprotected, in zone 5 the likelihood of blooming is pretty slim when the winter is severe; the buds get destroyed. I cultivate the soil around the base with compost and slow releasing fertilizer (the ones that feeds for up to 3 months - such as Sta-Green all purpose) in mid April. Then I apply liquid fertilizer twice a month. In mid July I again repeat the April's treatment. No fertilizer after mid August. I water heavily from late October until ground freezes to avoid dehydration during the winter.



This is the same Clematis Montana Rubens Odorata as above in a different shot.

img src="http://home.comcast.net/~roseperson/climbers/cl4.jpg">

This is the same Clematis Montana Rubens Odorata as in above two pictures showing the profusion of blooms.



Clematis Nelly Moser under the shade by the front door.



Same Clematis Nelly Moser as in above picture but Rosa Dortmund has joined the parade by now. The lone huge white bloom near bottom left is Clematis Lanuginosa Candida.



Climbing Iceberg, Autumn Sunset and Westerland. I was fortunate to get both the parent and sports (Autumn Sunset/Westerland) in a single plant.



Zephirine Drouhin. It is almost impossible to capture the magnitude of the
entire plant without a 360 degree picture. At the feet are Rosa Green Ice and Red Ribbon.



Rosa Abraham Darby at right. I raise him as a short climber. Tucked within the Abes s clematis General Sikorski just starting to bloom. At middle below is rosa 07/04, still a baby and at left is clematis Woill Godwin. Farthest left is rosa Simplicity (pink).



This is my unbelievableBallerina, I never thought I would be able to get it to this big.It also defied the Nursery warning that it needs to be protected. I do not protect it and yet it is
the most hardy for me. Probably because it is against the West wall and under the eaves.



This is the same Ballerina as above in a different shot.



This is the same Ballerina as in above two pictures but offers a different view.



This is my favorite; the Awakening. It is a fabulous climber, super hardy, disease free, season long fragrant double blooms. I do not know how much more
adjectives can suitably qualify this rose.



Rosa Zephirine Drouhin and clematis Mrs. Cholmondeley. Combination of these two sober colors is a sure welcome sight by the front door. ZD is thornless and superbly fragrant making it a good choice for the entry area.



Rosa Jeanne La Joie by my Laundry Room Window. Never thought Jeanne being a mini
could do a job of this magnitude. This year I am seeing 5 huge basal shoots promising probably an even more spectacular show next season.



Clematis Ernest Markham at top left and Clematis Comtesse de Bouchaud at right. At the feet is Rosa Sunsprite. Choosen for height synchronization - EM starts where CdB tops out. At right you see the sides of Clematis Niobi.



Clematis Jackmanii superimposed on the Awakening. At the feet is Rosa Queen Elezabeth.



Clematis Perle d' Azur and white Clematis Huldine. At the feet is Rosa Veteran's Honor.



Clematis Niobi, a short clematis of very dark red color, very floriferous and carefree.



Clematis X Durandii, a non climbing extremely sought after variety using my dwarf 4 feet topiary as a support. The indigo blooms peek out of this topiary all summer long.



A view of the Home.



Another view of the Home.



Yet another view of the Home. At the foreground is my other New Dawn. It blooms all summer long and I sort of raise it as a bush. However, I have the pillar ready at its base in case it prefers to be a climber.



Yet another view of the Home with Rosa Dortmund in setting sun.



I have been asked how the climbers are secured to the sides of the house. They are secured against trellis made of wire-screens (usually used as hedges to guard your garden from animals) attached to the brick wall with "L" shaped metal brackets fastened to the wall with aluminum screws meant for concrete. Please look carefully in the picture of Clematis Nelly Moser, the 6th picture from top, you will be able to see the wire-screen. You get these green plastic coated screens in Home Depot or Lowe's. They are available in rolls of different width. These screens are almost invisible when looked at from deistance. I have explored many alternatives and found this to be the most practical and the least expensive means for the purpose.



Below is a picture of the home shot on/at 6/19/2003 5:00:36 PM. If you notice the climbers are still young, specially the Awakening. I wish they were less vigorous. They are more demanding nutrition wise when they are vigorous - just like human beings.



On care of climbers their first year: I guess I owe you the process that I follow in caring the climbing roses the first year. I would like to emphasize that this is the process that I have designed and it worked perfect for me in my zone and on my garden soil; however it may not work as good for others having different kind of soil structure and/or a different zone. Having a very short growing season it is very important to get a good growth of the rose the first year and to minimize the winter dieback that follows. I start with a ONE YEAR own-root rose plant (not 2 or 3 years old). It is like adopting a one year old baby vs. a 2 or 3 year old, you know what I mean. For my zone the plant must go into the hole latest by May 10. Some shippers have an earliest shipping date of May 17 for my zip code, I tell them I bear the resposibility of frost damage, I must get the plant latest by May 5. I prepare the hole as I discussed in part-1 of this post. I apply a handful of high Nitrogen Lawn fertilizer such as Scott's Turf Builder mixed with about 6 cups of Rose Tone around the base of the plant (mix thoroughly with the top 4 inches of the soil). Just a handful of fertilizer, do not over do. Next week I apply a gallon of water soluble Lawn Fertilizer such as Miracle Grow Lawn Fertilizer. I repeat that again next week. And the following week. This gives Nitrogen rich boost for the vegetative growth. You will see the stem growing a few inches a day. For the next 2 to 3 weeks I just water the plant, good old plain water. Now is the the time to take care of the root. I just use Potash and Phosphate totally eliminating the Nitrogen for a while. Nitrogen is also in the atmosphere and in rain water, these supplies will suffice for a while. I apply about 2 table spoons of Hoffman's Muriate of Potash (0-0-60) around the 2 square feet base of the plant. Also at the same time I apply 3 table spoons of Hoffman's Triple Super Phosphate (0-46-0). For those of you who can not obtain these products may improvise with low nitrogen bulb food, about half a cup. and then just apply plain water to the plant as needed, usually 4 gallons of water once a week. By July 10 I apply 2 gallons of Peter's 20-20-20 and I repeat the same on around August 7, that's the last time I fertilize it. Hope this helps. After this you will have to take care of the plant to minimize the dieback.

A note on dirt and clematis: I have been asked if I use "Magic Dirt" for my Clematis. I do not know if you are talking about any particular brand of dirt, if so the answer is "No". What I do, though, is dig a good size hole for any climber, be it rose or clematis. About 2 cubic feet; 2 feet wide, 2 feet long and 2 feet deep, no exception. You are making a home for the plant, make it as well as you can, the plant will pay you back.

Then amend the soil. Keep about little less than half the soil from the hole and discard the rest. To that soil add 2 parts of compost and 1 part of peat moss, 3 cups of bone meal, mix well, make enough volume to fill the hole. If you have clay dirt then you have to discard more of the original soil and substitute sand for that. Too heavy clay? Discard all of them and use store bought topsoil. Now lets talk about clematis. Take the plant out of the pot and wash the soil off of the roots by hosing with running water. Keep the root immersed in a bucket of water to avoid dehydration while you will work on the hole. In dry sunny weather a few minutes exposure without moisture may ruin the plant, soak it immediately.

With the amended soil, form a mound at the center of the hole in the shape of a cone. It should look like those orange cones you see at the road repair site. If you moisten the soil a little this cone preparation becomes easier. The cone's top should be at least 4 inches below from the surface (ground level). Now you can do an optional step that you do not have to but I do. Take a full size Newspaper sheet and wrap the cone with it carefully, sprinkle water on it so the newspaper clings to the cone. This reduces the chance of crumbling the cone while working with it. The newspaper will rot and will act as a fertilizer.

Take the plant, untangle the roots and set the base of the root on the tip of the dirt cone and spread the roots evenly on all sides of the cone. The plant now is sitting on the cone. Fill the whole with remaining amended soil, fill a little tamp a little, fill a little tamp a little till you have filled up to the tip of the cone. Now pour water and fill the remaining hole. Wait and let drain. Fill again with water and let drain again. Now fill the hole with remaining dirt mixed with three fourth cup of all purpose slow releasing fertilizer. Water again. Done with planting. Always plant the clematis deep, at least 4 inches below, in other words bury 4 inches of the stem into the ground. This will produce a fat bush with many stems. Clematis likes its roots cold, so keep the root area mulched or plant some shallow ground cover like sedum around it to keep the root cool. Enjoy the clematis for many years. The grandest show starts from the third year. I have mentioned the regular feeding in this post above for Montana Rubens clematis. The feeding is same for all the clematis. Remember, clematis loves water, you cannot over water it.