THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270088
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
I'm having problems with my clematis. I bought one last spring that did not bloom but climbed to the top of a trellis. It has no leaves until at the top. This spring it started to bloom near the top - white blooms with solid yellow centers 8 inches across. I don't know its name. It bloomed on old growth this spring, so when do I prune it for more blooms next year? I'd also like to have foliage near the ground.
My second problem is that something is eating the foliage on both of my clematis vines. I have talked to nursery people and read my garden book and get conflicting advice. My ``Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening'' tells me that earwigs will eat clematis, gladioli, dahlias and some other plants. It suggests using insecticidal soap. I bought some Safer soap, but it doesn't mention earwigs on the label. I don't see any bugs in the daytime - only at night, using a flashlight. Insecticidal soap must be sprayed directly on the little beasts, and I can't find them. I also put Deadline slug poison around stems on the ground but have not seen a dead slug. I guess the slugs could be hiding in mulch at the base of the clematis, but the Deadline should have caused a few corpses, shouldn't it?
I also need to know how deep I should plant the ``Spooneri Rosea'' clematis I bought in a one-gallon pot. In one of your articles, you quote Donahue's Greenhouse in Minnesota as saying that clematis should be planted 2 inches deeper than it is in the pot, making sure one set of leaves is below soil level. If I bury the bottom row of leaves, I would be burying half the growth.
Betty Brigman, Norfolk
Telling any reader how to prune clematis is difficult, because you have to know the variety you're growing. Your clematis is properly classifed ``large flowering,'' and it sounds from the description like it may be ``Marie Boisselot.''
There are very few books on clematis, but the one I use is Barry Fretwell's ``Clematis.'' He classifies clematis into groups A, B and C for pruning purposes. Group B includes large-flowered hybrids that flower most in May and June. Some are rather tall, straggly growers, like yours. From the second year onward, cut out all dead wood and spindly shoots during February and March. Cut the rest of the stems back to the topmost pair of large, fat green buds. New shoots will grow out in abundance. Train them up to the right and left of the main stem. The large-flowered varieties bloom first on last year's growth, so leave enough of that to get good blooms. Their second, later bloom is on new growth, so you can really prune as much as you want in early spring.
Remember that many gardeners say it takes seven years for clematis to reach maturity and bloom in abundance. They need cool roots in the shade, heavily mulched, but the vine must have sunshine to bloom.
There is an insect definitely eating your clematis leaves. Earwigs are beetle-like creatures with their ``jaws'' on the wrong end. Their tail appendages look like forceps. They are largely nocturnal, living under bark, stones or debris on the ground during the day, doing their damage at night. They are hard, dark reddish-brown, up to nearly an inch long. They seldom fly but they run. Their young feed on green plant shoots like clematis, eating holes in leaves of many different vegetables and flowers. They're especially harmful around fruit trees, dining on ripening fruit. They can become a real pest if they get in the house, hiding in every crevice. Cynthia Wescott, author of ``The Gardener's Bug Book,'' recommends dusting Sevin on the ground wherever you suspect them. Spectracide is as good or better for clematis.
In all the years I've used slug bait, I've never seen a dead slug. The best sign you've gotten rid of them is to see new foliage growing on the plants you're protecting.
As to planting depth, here's a quote from Donahue's instructions: ``Clematis can be planted most any month you are able to work the soil, but spring and early autumn are probably the best times. After you have picked a sight for your clematis, the soil should be dug out about 18 inches all around and below the place you intend to plant. Mix together some good compost or quality potting soil, some granular all-purpose fertilizer along with some of the soil from where you dug.'' Donahue says to plant your clematis 1 to 2 inches deeper than it was in the pot with one set of leaves below the soil level. However, Linda Pinkham of Smithfield Gardens, who is a clematis expert, says our soils are so much heavier than those rich loam soils of the Midwest that she recommends planting at the same level the plant was in the pot. Water afterward with a mild solution of an all-purpose water-soluble fertilizer. Mulch the soil at the plant's base.
Clematis is such a complicated flower to grow but so beautiful when done correctly that Donahue has prepared a complete guide as to color, height and pruning. Readers may request it by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to me at the address below. Mark the mailing envelope to the paper ``Clematis.'' Unfortunately, many books I refer to are out of print.
This is in regard to Sue Belcher's inquiry from Suffolk on July 23 about Chinquapins, an Indian name pronounced Chink-o-pin, a shrubby American chestnut. I would like to contact her, because I have a friend who grows these trees.
F. Marvin Bridges, 5128 Lobaugh Drive, Virginia Beach, Va. 23464, phone 467-0745
Reference your item regarding Chinquapins, John C. Purnell of Chipley, Fla., has some trees he grows as a hobby. He may also have some seedlings. I'm sure he could be of help and will probably have some Chinquapins in the fall. His address is John C. Purnell, 527 W. Blvd., Chipley, Fla. 32428.
Oscar E. Everette, Norfolk
I'm sorry, but once letters are answered, they are destroyed, so I do not have Sue Belcher's address or phone number in Suffolk. I hope she'll read this and contact Marvin Bridges or John C. Purnell. Thanks to these readers for offering help.
I have Siberian iris for sale at $2.50 each. My telephone number is 427-6380 if anyone needs directions.
Farrell Braun, 2608 Highland Drive, Virginia Beach
Farrell Braun grows many good perennials at his country farm garden, in what used to be lower Princess Anne county. Fall is an ideal time for planting. Call for directions. by CNB