Clematis has a special place in the garden. Florists appreciate this plant's beauty and the ability to create a hedge strewn with colorful flowers with its help.
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With the help of clematis, wrapping trees, walls of buildings, hedges or simply spreading along the ground like a carpet with its long vines, you can give the garden a unique look. Due to the rapid growth of vines and abundant flowering, gardeners call clematis the king of climbing plants.
Today, about 250 species and more than two thousand varieties of this amazing creeper are known. It should be noted that varieties differ not only in color, but also in flowering time and flower size. For example, the smallest flowers in diameter are no more than 2.5 cm. The largest flowers can grow up to 20 cm or more.
Clematis is a perennial plant, its flowering time depends on the species and variety. For example, some clematis delight the eye with abundant flowering in early spring, others in the summer. Varieties that bloom until late autumn are also known. Clematis is unpretentious in leaving, they grow well in the sun and in partial shade, as a rule, are resistant to various diseases. But at the same time, it should be noted that this plant is very fond of fertile, loose, well-drained soil and moderate watering.
To buy clematis seedlings should be in specialized flower shops, in autumn and spring. But not at its very end, as young layering of clematis poorly take root and are very ill.
All flowers are good - choose for the soul
Among the huge variety of clematis you can find early flowering varieties, summer and autumn. For example, spring flowers bloom profusely. Among them, the most popular alpine and mountain clematis. And if you choose the right varieties of clematis, differing in height, tillering ability, size of flowers, your garden will delight you with bright flowers throughout the spring-autumn season.
Hybrid clematis is very popular among gardeners. They are loved not only for their bright, unusual colors, but also for large flowers, which, like roses, can bloom several times a year. But at the same time, hybrid plants require more attention, as they are more vulnerable to adverse factors. Clematis hybrids also differ in growth rate. As a rule, they grow much slower than other representatives of this beautiful perennial creeper.
The highest plants of hybrid varieties reach a height of up to three meters.
The most resistant to diseases of the root system are varieties of purple clematis (Clematis viticella). It blooms only on young shoots, the first flowers appear in late June.
What to give preference to?
The variety of clematis sortogroups gives gardeners the opportunity to use various options to design a garden design. For example, plants with large flowers are very popular. Among them - sortogruppy "Jacqueman", "Vititsella", "Lanuginoza."
Jacqueman Group
Its ancestor is considered clematis "Jacquman" (jackmanii). It includes several dozen plant varieties characterized by semi-woody or herbaceous vines with long, up to four meters, shoots, large flowers, which in open form reach 12-15 cm.The clematis of this group are magnificent, the main flowering time is July-September. The Jacqueman group has a rich color scheme. It has violet (Andre Leroy), lilac-pink (Comtesse de Bouchaud), violet-purple (Gipsy Queen), pale blue ("Anastasia Anisimova"), reddish-lilac ("Nikolai Rubtsov") shades.
Vititsella Group
Varieties of this group were obtained by crossing violet clematis (viticella) with other representatives of this plant. The flowers of these clematis grow on the shoots of the current year, consist of 5 or 6 sepals and are usually red, pink, purple in color. The most common varieties of this group: Ville de Lyon with flowers of raspberry red hue, Ernest Markham (red). If you want to populate purple clematis in your garden, buy Etoile Violette, fans of bright crimson flowers will suit Alexandrite, lovers of light pink tones will like Nikitsky.
Group "Lanuginoza"
The clematis of the Lanuginosa group (lanuginosa) is formed from wooly clematis and differs from previous groups in thinner vines 2-3 meters long. The flowers of plants of this species are large, with 6-8 sepals, very delicate pastel color. Usually the flowers of the Lanuginoza cultivar group are light, blue or pink. Flowers are formed mainly on old shoots, which in the autumn must be cut and covered for the winter. The most popular varieties of this group of clematis are Blue Gem (blue), Crimson Star (raspberry), Ramona (dark blue). Clematis varieties "Ballerina" will please you with white flowers.