Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
Meeting The Needs Of Today With A Vision For The Future
Recommended Vines -
Sweet Autumn Clematis
There are few plants, vines or otherwise, the produce more flowers over the course of several weeks than a
vigorous sweet autumn clematis, right!
Native to Japan, it's Latin name may be given as Clematis paniculata,C. maximonowicziana, C. terniflora, or C. dioscoreifolia, depending upon the reference.
Despite the confusion surrounding its scientific nomenclature, there's no confusion regarding this plant's reliability as a
late summer through early
autumn-flowering vine suitable for almost any Central New York landscape.
Simply plant a young vine (they're very easy to find and fairly inexpensive at many garden centers) in any average garden soil (not too wet, nor bone dry) that's fairly well drained. Providing it's planted next to a trellis, arbor or fence that's exposed to at least a half-day of sun, you'll then want to stand back.
I say this because, though it may take a season or two to become established, sweet autumn clematis can easily grow twenty feet or more in a single season, overwhelming any and everything in its path!
The good news is that throughout the growing season if it takes over something you'd like to keep uncovered (nearby plants,
pets, young children, etc.), just grab the offending vines by the handful and cut them back as hard as necessary. I generally need to
do this two or three three times a summer to keep one of our vines off the cut-leaf Japanese maple near the waterfall above our
pond, above right!
Speaking of pruning, the process is very simple with sweet autumn clematis.
Because it sets flower buds on new shoots in late summer, simply cut the previous season's growth back to a couple of strong buds a foot or two off the ground on each stem in late winter or early spring, at left and at right, below. As soon as warm weather arrives in late April and early May, you can almost watch the new shoots grow, as it's not unusual for them to put on the better part of a foot of growth every couple of days!
One
final thought/concern regarding sweet autumn clematis is it's
ability to produce and disseminate a tremendous amount of seed each
year, below left. This has lead to its escape from cultivation throughout many
southern states and it's therefore landed on a number of invasive
species lists. Fortunately, having grown this vine for the better
part of fifteen years and observed many other plants for at least as
long, I've yet to see it escape from cultivation anywhere in Central
New York.
So, if you're looking for a low-maintenance vine that'll cover a lot
of ground, so to speak, over the course of a growing season - and
produce a bumper crop of blooms, this clematis is for you!