If you have heard me speak on growing clematis you may remember my directions for growing that will bloom in tandem for an exciting and guest-gasp inducing display………Plant two that are from the same pruning group , ‘It’s that easy!” I say, and I stand by that.

Two group ones ( although holy hell that would need a large structure indeed) two group twos, or two group threes, all will work as garden partners , blooming happily together and requiring lots of photos to be taken of their beauty and to show off your garden prowess.

On the other hand there are ways to go about it that are indeed more difficult.

I have grown two varieties together that are of different pruning groups. One epic fail was  Elsa Spaeth ( a 2) and Comtesse de Bouchard ( a 3) which meant cutting poor Elsa back every year until she had quite enough of the rough treatment and sulked mightily until I separated her from her growing mate and let her shine on her own.

I have broken my own rule frequently about how to grow them together  , often to disastrous results, but let’s not visit the past ,heh?

 

This year I am trying three together that most certainly and under no circumstances should be grown together . Why not?  If nothing else I will have a future failure to learn from and report.

The three victims, ahem,  Growing partners, are

Elsa Spaeth  (Spath ) who often gets subjected to my experiments),is a lovely group two pruned clematis that is just stunning in the garden with her fancy deep purple flowers  with dark bars that fade to another purple altogether with the passage of time.

Clematis ‘Summer Snow’  , or c.’Snow in Summer , or  or c. Paul Farges….this clematis is sold under many names and like many clematis has an interesting and convoluted nomenclature story ( you can read here) . Although I have seen it listed as a group 2 it is a group 3 , hard prune in spring for flowering on new growth. This is where the trickiness begins, Summer Snow is vigorous, and will grow to be about 20×20 feet in one summer. It starts to flower mid-June here which works for my  plan, and it’s saving grace is that is leaves are spread out on long stems so although quite large it is not as smothering as many of the larger vines can be.

 

The last one is most definitely the oddest choice, and it is clematis crispa, or swamp leather flower. Those who know what the gardens are like here ( dry sand) may wonder if I have lost my marbles, and honestly it is a fair question. This species, unlike the majority of clematis species, likes wet soil. A few years ago I decided to try growing it here on a whim. I placed it under my main bird feeder which is located both near  door I use most as well and  hose reel. I will say it is not what it would be in a Georgia swamp, but it is growing nicely and has bloomed regularly.

One of the surprising  things I have found here, is that after they are settled in the garden for a few years ALL of my clematis are among the top most drought tolerant plants I grow, Rarely do they even show a hint of suffering . If they ever look ragged all it takes is a visit from the loppers and they grow back better than ever. This may be pushing it though.

My three very unlikely growing partners are planted a few feet from each other and then trained to grow toward each other using a small garden cart, the bird feeder pole and a section of fence to help keep them supported.  One of the fun parts about growing clematis that you prune to the ground is that each year you can train them in a different direction, or up a new structure ,  or into a large shrub or tree. I have one this year that usually grows in the fence that was given a tall tripod to climb this year to change the look of it’s garden area, and another that usually grows into a variegated dogwood shrub that has been trained in a low arch over some landscape rose bushes. Really, the possibilities are endless if you use your imagination.If you don’t have any imagination, you have the interwebs , google, Pinterest and ME!

Back to the three. They are all just starting to bloom. I am happy with the result with an underlying sense of dread as I watch Summer Snow set it’s sights in covering the entire garden. Oh well. that is what pruners are for and  I will remain on guard  . You may also notice, and shake your head in bewilderment , that there is a large honeysuckle in the mix, We call that being a glutton for punishment