Cultivation

Having seen several species in the wild growing in the most appalling ground, I am not inclined to worry about soil conditions, except to stress that they do all need good drainage. All will need sunlight for at least half the day. The yellow ‘lemon-peel’ varieties establish quickly, but some others may be slower. The majority will cope with high summer temperatures but go into dormancy if their roots run dry. Hardiness is not a problem for the species in cultivation. They suffer few pest and disease problems.

Nearly all flower on the current season’s growth, and so pruning can be as hard as it needs to be, which allows potentially large-growing plants to be kept to much smaller sizes, or at the other extreme, in a wilder planting, they need not be pruned at all and can be allowed to run rampant.

But be warned, clematis growth is often wayward and always very brittle, so you may find when you set out to tidy up an older plant that what starts as a light prune can often turn into something more serious, leaving a growing pile of tangled debris at the bottom of the ladder. Plants on house walls are best cut back annually to a framework of permanent stout stems.

Clematis will need both horizontal and vertical support to climb a wall or fence. Wooden trellises are readily available, but you can create your own by attaching wires to walls using vine eyes. Whatever you use, each element should be no more than 20cm apart, and preferably closer lower down.