"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 10/06/2012 08:26, KatiG wrote:
My Mum died in Autumn last year, and I lost 80 years of gardening
experience as well as my best friend. So I' m looking for a new source
of advice.
In Spring last year she planted 4 new clematis around a metal obelisk.
Would they move to a south facing fence and if so, how? I would have
done it sooner but the fence was being replaced. Also, when? I probably
have a while until the house sells in this market.





So sorry to hear about your Mum, Kati. Hopefully, you will find a good
source of advice here. Welcome.

The 4 clematis will certainly move, and south facing is fine provided you
give them some shade at the roots. Provided you're prepared to water well
until they establish, you can move them now. Plant them a little way from
the fence, so they are not in the rain shadow. Dig the area over well and
deeply, and add good compost and fertiliser. Once you see how much root
growth the plants have, dig a hole 4-6" deeper so that the lower part of
the clematis is planted deeper than previously. This will a) provide
stronger growth, and b) protect the plant against verticilium wilt. Of
course, with your Mum's great gardening knowledge, she may have planted
them deeply in the first place. If you know this to be true, you can get
away with planting them at 'her' soil level' (the soil mark around the
base of the stems).

Hope all goes well, both with the clematis and resolving your Mum's
estate. I know from personal experience what a difficult time this is.
--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

Too additions to the above, when you do the move cut the plants back hard
(they will reshoot later) this gives the roots chance to sort themselves out
without a large amount of leaf to support.
and secondly put a tube into the holes when planting so you can water direct
to the roots. (plastic bottle with the ends cut off)


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk