Winter Wonders - Plant Of The Moment

 

Winter Wonders Plants Of The Moment

Above: clematis 'Jingle Bells' - Beautiful creamy-white flowers are nodding and bell-shaped with a hint of citrus scent if grown in a sunny location. Aspect: Sun to Part Shade Facing Aspect: South,East,West Flowering Months: January - March Average Flower Size (Inches): 1.5 Average Height (Feet): 14 Pruning: Tidy After Flowering (Group 1) Soil Type: Well Drained Hardiness Zone: H5 - Hardy - Cold Winter (-15C to -10C) Suitable for Containers: No Awards: No Scented: Yes Winter Flowering Wonders. Hello Peter As we come to a time of year when gardens are often losing their colour and interest, I've chosen to write something that will hopefully help you extend that interest well into the winter and spring. Of course these also make wonderful gifts for gardening friends and family so perhaps this will help you tick off another Christmas gift from your list? Last deliveries before Christmas will be week beginning 6th December. In this Plant of the Moment email we will be looking at the evergreen group of clematis called cirrhosa and what it is about these clematis that make them so popular with gardeners. Order Your Clematis Cirrhosa Here Above: clematis 'Freckles' - Pale cream nodding bell-shaped flowers are very heavily freckled inside with rusty maroon. Freckles blooms in great abundance from Autumn to spring and is one of our best selling evergreen clematis. Aspect: Sun to Part Shade Facing Aspect: South,East,West Flowering Months: October - February Average Flower Size (Inches): 1.5 Average Height (Feet): 14 Pruning: Tidy After Flowering (Group 1) Soil Type: Well Drained Hardiness Zone: H5 - Hardy - Cold Winter (-15C to -10C) Suitable for Containers: No Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit Scented: No The clematis family cirrhosa are native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region including the islands of the Mediterranean. When they are grown in the UK they prefer a sunny situation but will also grow in part shade if required and although they are hardy, they prefer a free draining soil condition to avoid them waterlogging through the winter months. Above: clematis 'Ourika Valley' - The nodding bell-shaped flowers are pale lime green when first open, maturing to yellowy-cream. This is one of, if not the toughest of evergreen clematis and the edges of it's glossy mid-green leaves are serrated which adds further to its attraction. Aspect: Sun to Part Shade Facing Aspect: South,East,West Flowering Months: January - March Average Flower Size (Inches): 1.5 Average Height (Feet): 11 Pruning: Tidy After Flowering (Group 1) Soil Type: Well Drained Hardiness Zone: H5 - Hardy - Cold Winter (-15C to -10C) Suitable for Containers: No Awards: No Scented: No Thought to have first been cultivated for the garden in around the late 1500's, we have relatively few cultivated forms of this wonderful species of clematis, nevertheless the ones we do have are exceptional in their own way. The foliage does vary slightly between each cultivar but most notable is 'Ourika Valley' which has a glossy serrated foliage of mid-green. In the UK we rarely get consistently hot summers, however on rare occasions that we do get long hot periods of weather, the leaf can turn yellow and sometimes in extreme heat will drop off as the plants go dormant. This is perfectly normal for the cirrhosa because in their native habitat they go dormant during the heat of summer, simply to survive. Do not over-water when they are in this state, they are not using it when dormant. Share Tweet Forward Pin Above: clematis 'Wisley Cream' - Dainty cream nodding bell-shaped flowers are produced in profusion through the winter months. Named after the place it was raised, the RHS garden Wisley. Aspect: Sun to Part Shade Facing Aspect: South,East,West Flowering Months: January - March Average Flower Size (Inches): 1.5 Average Height (Feet): 11 Pruning: Tidy After Flowering (Group 1) Soil Type: Well Drained Hardiness Zone: H5 - Hardy - Cold Winter (-15C to -10C) Suitable for Containers: No Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit Scented: No All of these wonderful plants have simple hanging bell shaped flowers that are produced on short flower stems in the leaf axles. We suggest that because the flower can sometimes be a little hidden by the leaf, you should grow these plants up and over a supporting structure, like an arch or arbour or possibly even into a large shrub or small tree. Grown in this way you'll be able to look up into the plant and appreciate the bloom. The natural flowering time for most of these cirrhosa is between October and March varying depending on the cultivar grown and because of this winter and spring flowering time, we suggest you grow them near to your house or at least in an area where you will be able to appreciate them during this time of year. clematis 'Freckles' growing nicely up a west facing wall and giving some wonderful flower and winter interest. Pruning Thankfully once these cirrhosa are growing you don't need to do much pruning to them. For the first year after planting, let them flower and then prune back by half whatever their height is. For the second year again let them flower and prune back just half the newest growth to encourage further branching out. In future just prune after flowering and only if there is dead growth or just enough to keep them neat and tidy. Now hurry, these are only available at the discounted rate until the 5th December or while stocks last! Buy Your clematis Cirrhosa Here! P.S. To make the most of your postage. Did you know you can fill your parcel with a Lucky Dip Plant? They're just £5 and it could be anything! Grab your Lucky Dip Plant here.