Say clematis are mediocre? I, Jackman, was the first to disagree.

When it comes to gardening flowering vines, if Clematis Clematis is the second, I'm afraid no other plant is qualified to be the first.

Today's protagonist 'Jackman' clematis, in a narrow sense, refers to the hybrid C. × jackmanii's "Jackmanii", whose flowers are very large, with four sepals and dark purple. Compared with an endless stream of modern hybrid varieties, Jackman's appearance is somewhat mediocre, at least not in line with my aesthetic. But its status is very high, it can be said to be one of the most important bases of clematis horticultural large flower varieties.

Today's protagonist, Jackman, is mediocre. Picture: learningwithexperts.com

I am not particularly infatuated with clematis. Part of my love for clematis comes from my love of Ranunculaceae. Over the past four years, I have only raised a few good living varieties, about a dozen, and the breeding methods are also relatively extensive, such as rain shelter, sunshade, drainage and fertilization, which do not exist. But luckily, only one seedling died in the first year, and although the rest blossomed only a few every year, they could also contribute some beauty to the yard.

Some of the varieties I have raised cannot be named. Picture: frost moth

Clematis in a variety of ways

Clematis is extremely rich in flower shape, color and plant height, and the flowering time is also different. if the varieties are matched properly, it is enough to support the vertical flower border in a space from early spring to late autumn. Some of them have bright colors and complex shapes, showing elegance and elegance; some are small and numerous, forming waterfalls that flow down little by little; some are shaped like small bells, delicate and lovely; some perianth is long and stretches outward, like flying birds spreading their wings.

Clematis' Eagle'C. "Petit Faucon". Picture: naturehills.com

In history, clematis is certainly inferior to the rose, or even some grass flowers. It often appears as a rural wild flower. For example, C. vitalba, native to Europe, is a wild vine with a length of more than ten meters. It has a very common white flower, and some people call it "traveller" s 喜悦.

In the mid-16th century, Italian clematis C. viticella from southeastern Europe was introduced to England; by the end of the 16th century, clematis had come in two different colors. In the following 100 years, although several wild clematis from Europe, Asia and North America were developed as horticultural plants, such as C. integrifolia, C. orientalis and C. viorna, they were not large-flowered clematis, so they did not play a core role in the development and breeding at that time. People hope to find more clematis with large flowers like Italian clematis to participate in breeding.

There are more than 100 species of clematis in China, accounting for more than 1/3 of the world's species, including very showy large flowers, but they have never had a place in the field of horticulture in ancient China. On the contrary, clematis is often used in horticulture in neighboring Japan.

In 1776, naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg, the first Swede to arrive in Japan, discovered C. courtoisii, a flower originally from China, and brought it back to Sweden, which was later mistakenly identified as C. florida. The big flower Wei Ling fairy has white sepals and dark purple stamens, the visual contrast is very strong. It forms its own category in the process of breeding in Europe, and its derived variety is called Florida clematis (F) clematis.

The original big flower Wei Lingxian, full of fairy spirit. Picture: aagesenshave.dk

Green is better than Blue Jackman

The 19th century was the golden age of clematis breeding. In 1835, Hendeson, a horticulturist at Pineapple nursery in London, successfully bred 'Henderson' clematis C. × diversifolia "Hendersonii" by crossing Italian clematis and whole clematis. This variety is very popular and has become an important parent of other cross breeding.

The whole clematis' blue belt'. Picture: pinterest.com

During this period, two kinds of clematis from China, C. patens and C. lanuginosa, were introduced into Europe. In 1858, George Jackman, a horticulturist in the town of Woking, England, crossed clematis with C. viticella "atrorubens", a red variety of clematis. As a result, the world-famous Jackman was born. (some experts believe that Jackman's parents are Clematis pubescens and Henderson clematis. )

Clematis pubescens is an important foundation of modern hybrid large flower varieties. Picture: biolib.cz

As soon as Jackman came out, it overshadowed Henderson and quickly became synonymous with clematis. Jackman won the first prize of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1863 and is known as one of the most outstanding hybrid clematis in history. After that, horticulturists around the world selected and bred many excellent large flower hybrids based on Jackman.

According to the size of flowers, clematis can be divided into large flowers (diameter 5~29cm) and small flowers (diameter 1.5~18cm). According to the florescence, these two types can be divided into early flower group and late flower group, and each group is subdivided into different groups.

Jackman belongs to the category of late flower, which usually blossoms from midsummer to autumn. Its vines can climb up to 3 meters high and the flowers can reach 18cm in diameter. When they are full of purple flowers, they become the focus of the yard, but they don't take up too much space (many small flowers like clematis). As mentioned earlier, the mediocre Jackman is only one of the varieties of C. × jackmanii, and there are other varieties, which are not limited to purple and four sepals.

Jackman's white double variety "Alba" has fallen apart from this one. Picture: pinterest.com

It is impossible to prevent Fusarium wilt

Jackman brought the prosperity of large flower hybrids, but also brought the nightmare of clematis-Fusarium wilt. Fusarium wilt is caused by fungi and can not be prevented. Fusarium wilt mostly occurs at the turn of spring and summer. When it first clears up after rain and the temperature rises rapidly, the infected shoot of clematis dies quickly without warning. If it is potted clematis, the underground part may also be infected, causing the roots to rot.

Clematis, one of Jackman's parents, is thought to be highly susceptible to Fusarium wilt fungi. At the beginning of the 20th century, varieties with Jackman blood were infected one after another, affecting almost all large flower varieties, which once led to the collapse of clematis breeding. Horticulturists introduced a variety of disease-resistant native clematis for hybridization and grafting, but Fusarium wilt could not be controlled.

Usually, deep burial is a traditional way to deal with Fusarium wilt, that is, when planting, cover the soil not only to the top of the root, but to dig deeper until the soil is buried above the root about 10cm. Because most of the Fusarium wilt infects only part of the ground, the lower axillary buds protected by soil cover can be re-striped. However, according to the experience of clematis in China, deep burial can increase the incidence of Fusarium wilt in hot and rainy areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Fusarium wilt can not be prevented, so we can only deal with the dead branches as soon as possible, cut down to clean the lesions, so as not to infect other healthy branches, and then go out for a meal to adjust your mood. Picture: blogspot.com

Clear habits before pruning

According to flowering habits, clematis can be pruned in three ways. The way of pruning is very important, for some groups, proper pruning can increase the number of flowers, while inappropriate pruning can lead to no flowers this year.

One kind of pruning includes many small clematis, which are quite special. They only blossom on the old branches of last year, so they must not be cheap. The main way of pruning is beauty, only cutting off diseased and weak branches and withered flowers and leaves.

Clematis montanavar.rubens belongs to a kind of pruned Montana group (Montana Group), also known as hydrangea group, is a kind of exuberant variety of small flowers. The earliest parent is C. montana, which is native to China. Picture: egardengo.com

The second type of pruning is generally suitable for early flowering clematis, such as the most common 'president'. This kind of clematis blossoms in spring and April and blossoms on the flowering branches from the axillary buds of last year's old branches, so they need to be cut lightly before the beginning of spring and keep the old branches as far as possible. cut to the strongest pair of axillary buds.

President C. "President" is a very easy to raise entry-level training variety. Picture: waltersgardens.com

The 'Jackman' of the late flower belongs to the third type of pruning, which only blossoms on the new branches of the current season, so it is necessary to re-cut the old branches of the previous year before the beginning of spring, leaving only three or five knots on the ground to promote the germination of new branches on the roots.

The picture shows three types of trimming: the first type can be cut without cutting, the second type can be cut lightly, and the third type can be re-cut. Picture: pinterest.com

Clematis, as the most diverse horticultural vine, has always been the most popular flower, whether it is a vast rural garden or a small balcony with insufficient light.

When regular shops on the Internet sell clematis varieties, they will certainly indicate their groups and pruning methods. If the shopkeeper can't answer, you have to take a closer look at the address of the store.

This article is the 168th article in the fourth year of the species calendar, from the author of the species calendar @ frost moth.

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