TIE IN CLEMATIS AND CLIMBERS

Clematis and other climbers tend to be vigorous plants, and achieve a lot of growth in a short period of time. That growth needs to be encouraged in a direction that is desirable. For instance, a wisteria that isn’t tied into a pergola or into a canopy of a tree will quickly rampage all over the ground. Pathways and access can become restricted if climbers are allowed to outgrow their space.

The best way to encourage and guide your climber or clematis is to be conscious of this formative pruning for the first few years, whether you are training over a pergola, a gazebo or a shed. We need to encourage those stems from an early age to make sure that we are establishing a framework that will fill a space, be functional and avoid the constant battle of wayward growth in the future. This generally makes life a lot easier when that climber becomes more mature and established.

With clematis, particularly the group-3 clematis, which flower later in the summer, there is no permanent framework because we cut them down hard in the spring and all their growth is new. This makes tying in crucial every year.

1

As your clematis begins to grow, the growth is soft and fragile. With some jute string, tie a single knot to the structure that you wish to tie your clematis to. This will suffice around a piece of wire to lock that string in position; you are also creating a small cushion to prevent the stem rubbing against the wire, which can damage it.

2

Loosely tie the string around the clematis or climber with a double knot and trim off excess string. You want to secure the stem loosely enough so that it has room to grow and is not restricted, but tightly enough so that it is held in position.