In article . 10,
Victoria Clare wrote:
"Jo" wrote in
news
Have a read of my previous post 'Clematis lost all their flowers' -
just above the HCH post. The reason I believe ants are causing the
damage is because I have seen a large number of ants crawling over the
flowers (what flowers are left!) and there is a large nest at the base
of the plant.

If there is an ants nest right at the bottom of your clematis, it's almost
certainly too dry. Clematis like generous amounts to drink, specially when
the weather is like this, whereas ants like to live in nice dry soil.

If you water the clematis and feed it regularly, it will be more healthy,
and it will be too wet for the ants, who will move on to dryer places.

A good point, and very likely the cause of problems. But not all
clematis mind dry locations - PROVIDED they can get their roots down
to the water!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.