Topic: Can you move a clematis?

[Iain D]

Hello

I suppose the header says it all!  I have a really lovely clematis jackmanii on a trellis which is flowering away madly. Unfortunately it's one of the windiest places in the garden and it gets knocked about terribly and both leaves and flowers are scorching.  Is it OK to move a clematis and if so when would be the best time of year to do it?

Many thanks

Iain

[wardy]

I've got this problem and my clematis billows away from the trellis it's on  :o.  I tied it in some more to try and stop that but it does take a bashing.  Mine is a small flowered variety and the flowers don't seem to get the damaged the same as if it was a large flowered one.  I bunged more manure on the top of mine to try and keep some moisture at its roots and keep it well watered in hot weather.  I can't be bothered to move mine so I'm coddling it a bit.  They stop flowering at the end of Sept-Oct so then it won't be a problem

I don't see why you couldn't move it though but I'd wait til the flowers had finished and you could trim it back a bit to make it more moveable.

[Marianne]

Yes I think you could move it at the right time.  That is when the plant is dormant (in autumn?)  - I suspect you could cut it down low (1 foot) and move it to somewhere suitable.  Plocket is the person in the know about clematis and hopefully she can give you advice.

I have just hacked off half of mine as one side of the plant that is growing up an arch had gone completely black  :o :-X

I believe clematis do not like to have warmish roots so they need to be planted deep, this particular one of mine is in a bucket.
Whatever you do, GOOD LUCK !  :D ;)

[windygale]

Hi IAIN, looking in my books you have a Group 3 Clematis, which means any pruning and moving is best done around spring time.
Yes it can be moved, with some care, cut all stems back to a healthy pair of buds 1m(3ft) above ground level in march.and remove any damaged stems, give the plant a drink before moving it, dig around the rootball at least two feet from the main stem, then dig a hole the same size and add plenty of compost into it, add some fish blood and bone,well water for a couple of weeks then you should see new growth
i expect some true experts will tell you more,and fill in any gaps i missed out
hope this helps
windy

[ACE]

I dug up and replanted all my clematis when I moved once. Never lost one. I cut them back to about 2 foot then put them in deep rose pots with new compost, kept them under cover until they started budding the put them in their new home. Some were over 8 years old and I split some of the bigger roots and gained more plants.

[Iain D]

Thanks all, I feel much more confident about it now  :) Now I just need to find something tougher to replace the clematis!

Cheers

Iain

[Twospot Ladybird]

Hi Iain, How about another Clematis  ;D

Seriously, Clematis Alpina are tough little cookies that can tolerate very exposed sites and they're very pretty too.