There is more to Clematis than just the blousy climbers with which everyone is familiar, as Everett Leeds explained in his comprehensive presentation which embraced everything from their origins to some of the less widely known herbaceous types. Having been President of the Clematis Society, a founder member of the International Clematis Society and the author of several books on clematis our speaker was well qualified to introduce us to many examples of this diverse range of plants and how to propagate them.
This group of plants includes the wild version known as Old Mans Beard and the many other types introduced to this country by the Victorians who went on to breed many of the cultivars available today. The Clematis Montana group are easily propagated from cuttings of semi-ripe stems. Cuttings should be dipped in a dilute solution of fungicide, placed in pots of Perlite and kept in humid conditions out of direct sunlight. They can take 5-8 weeks to form roots then be planted in compost. For the herbaceous types hardwood cuttings with two nodes can be rooted in pots of Perlite or directly in the ground and left outside over the winter.
Members were introduced to many examples of the Clematis family which revealed that there is a Clematis to flower in just about every month of the year from the rampant and evergreen Clematis armandii which produces white scented blossoms from early spring to the herbaceous types, such as Clematis heracleifoliathat will flower until the first frosts of autumn. We were left in no doubt that every garden should make room for a Clematis or two.
Clematis armandii
A herbaceous type - Clematis heracleifolia
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