In article hAuMj.3027$XF3.948@trnddc04, "BD" wrote:

I purchased a clematis at a nursery that was closing at the end of the fall
season last year. I planted it in the fall and hoped for the best. Well,
its leaves are beginning to sprout! I planted it against the house, behind
a shrub as was recommended. My question is, do I have to build something
for the clematis to climb on, or will it cling to the brick?

Not all clematis behave the same but the majority in the circumstance you
describe would climb to the top of the bush and bloom on top of the bush,
possibly getting densely enough leaved to keep the bush from getting
enough sun, though with a big enough shrub they'll make a harmonious
couple. If you want it to climb the wall you'll have to help it along,
training it, and having at least strings if not a trellis will be a great
help in that process.

Some clematis can't cling well to walls at all, but others will make the
effort to cling to rough brick with some encouragement. Clematis lack
aereal tendrils (rootlets) but most (not all) have very small petioles
(leaf stalks) which function like tendrils so they can cling to a rough
enough wall. But planted where they make their own choice, climb the wall
or wend through a bush, it'll be the bush.

-paghat the ratgirl
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