Vines (Clematis)
Question: We're having a problem with our purple clematis. It appears to be perishing from the roots up. The leaves at the base of the plant started turning brown The whole plant seems to be under stress.
Answer: It sounds like your clematis has the dreaded disease known as 'clematis wilt'. It enters through a break in the stem, and moves through the plant quickly. There is not much that can be done short of cutting it below where the infection has started, and waiting for the plant to regenerate from the roots. It will quite often do this.
Question: How should clematis be trimmed in the fall in order to get the maximum foliage and flowers in the spring?
Answer: You must be careful when you prune clematis, because some of them bloom on old wood produced the previous year. If you cut this wood off you are sacrificing blooms, so I would hesitate to prune in the fall. Wait until the spring, then only do a light pruning to remove dead or weak-looking wood. If you would like some more detailed information on clematis pruning we have good info here at the store.
Question: I would like to know whether I should dead head my Honeysuckle?
Answer: I generally go over my honeysuckle after the bloom is done and remove the seed heads that form after the blooms are done. The berries are somewhat palatable to birds though, so if you wanted to leave them you could. I get a second lighter flush of bloom by deadheading though.
Question: I just moved into a new house, and there are quite a few clematis. I don't know how to prune them. What should I do?
Answer: A. Clematis fall into three categories-those that bloom on new wood (usually from late June on), those that bloom on old wood (from July to fall) and those that are blooming on old and new wood (in spring and again in late summer). For pruning purposes varieties that bloom on new wood can be cut back hard, to allow for production of new blooming growth. Don't do much pruning on varieties that are flowering on old wood, except to remove wood that is dead or spindly. The same is true for those types that bloom twice, only prune to shape or to remove dead branches. If you're not sure what varieties you have, wait until they bloom-the timing should be a good clue.
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