GardenBanter.co.uk - Growth habit of Clematis armandii

Hussein M. wrote:

On Wed, 9 Apr 2003 18:43:08 +0100, (swroot)
wrote:

[-]

I doubt that knowing mine survived such drastic treatment is any
guarantee at all that yours will! Mine sent up new shoots from the
rootstock rather than budded from the bare stalk;

That I have gathered ..... now. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I went out today to do a bit of tidying and to make sure that things
were growing where I wanted them. I used to have a patch of Lily of
the Valley around the base of the armandii and have since moved it.

In that very area I saw what I assumed was a lily of the valley
shoot emerging from the soil. I gave it a pull, strange no familiar
roots, a further bit of pulling ... it broke off and I realised that
what I had done was remove growth coming from the armandii root ball.

Aaaargh!

wince

I hate that feeling. Well, at least you know it's possible... I wonder
whether shooting like that is a response to pruning; you could try
cutting it back hard again this year to try to encourage new growth.

FWIW the bare stalk(s)
develop regardless of gung ho pruning -- mine's already got 1m or more
of bare stalk at the base again.

Aww! It's only tatty for a very short time and I am sure if you (or
I) catch one of those new growths from the root ball and persistently
prune it and all shoots which spring from it as a result of this first
nip, as soon as they reach the (say) third leaf node, we can get a bit
of branching lower down the plant. That's what I'll try anyway.

I reckon it will get away from you and festoon the fence with stringy
barky bits as soon as it can :-)

regards
sarah

--
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth." Aldous Huxley