"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Natty Dread" wrote in message
news
I've seen photos of huge clematis plants growing in rope-like vines along
fences, porch railings, etc. I'd like to train a clematis to grow on the
fence along one side of my yard that's in desperate need of some plant
life. I think it might be a good spot for a clematis because the area
gets full sun all day, but if I plant it on the northern side of the
fence the roots will stay cool (heads in the sun, roots in the shade, as
they say). My question is about the hardiness of clematis in my area.
I'm in Richmond, VA, which is USDA Zone 7 -- do clematis die back to the
ground here, or would I actually be able to grow a clematis vine to a
length of 20 or 30 feet in my area? If so, what type of clematis would
be best? (I saw the thread on evergreen clematis and read Paghat's Web
site on that, but she said the evergreens are best grown in zones 8 or
9.)

Any advice welcome. Thanks!

Rhonda
Richmond, VA
USDA Zone 7

I'm in zone 5 (upstate NY). My clematis (see link below) behaves like a
tree, meaning all leaves are killed by frost each year. But, it does NOT
die to the ground. The woody stems remain, and new leaves grow each
spring. In some years, there's a little frost damage to stem tips, but
never enough to make a noticeable difference.

I'm no expert on these plants - I just follow the instructions given to me
by the local grower I bought from many years ago. He told us we could
either prune the plant (all the way to the ground, or not that far), or
just leave it alone. I really depends on the effect you want. In your
case, you'd just leave it alone, other than making attempts at "training"
the plant. In fact, clematis plants usually train YOU to leave them alone
while they take over completely, which is when they look their best.

Clematis x jackmanii
http://www.waysidegardens.com/webapp...&OfferCode=S3H

Doug, thanks for the response. If you can grow one successfully in upstate
NY, I should be able to here! One other question for you (or anyone else
reading this, for that matter). I said I'd like to grow it on a fence which
is constructed of good quality pressure-treated pine fence. Would the
clematis be likely to damage a wood fence? The reason I ask is that when I
moved into my last house, which was in the DC area, there was a huge
honeysuckle that had taken over a similar fence on one side of the house.
When I cut it back, I discovered that pieces of the fencing had deteriorated
underneath the honeysuckle to such an extent that I had to replace that
entire section of fence. (There were holes in the wood, broken slats, etc.)
This one is brand-new, so I'm wondering if, to avoid that happening again, I
should construct some type of trellis system using chicken wire or whatever
so the clematis actually grows on that instead of on the fence. Do you
think that's necessary?

Thanks again,

Rhonda
Richmond, VA
USDA Zone 7