Gardens Galore by Karen Brewka

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Plant Sex

My beautiful blue- flowering alpine clematis met an untimely death recently during fence construction. It was a great vine in a great location so I will want to replace it.

There are lots of different kinds of clematis. The hybrids are the most easily recognized with large showy flowers in lots of colours and flower shapes. Different varieties of hybrids require different pruning techniques as the vines are not winter hardy.

Alpine clematis require no pruning unless they get a bit raggy looking when old. (Too bad humans can't get rejuvenated with just a bit of pruning. I would go for that.) They are very hardy, with single flowers in lots of different colours. They are not as showy as the hybrids but are very effective when all the flowers are blooming. They grow thickly and can be used as a screening element in the landscape.

Many people are familiar with the yellow clematis (Clematis tangutica). We see them on fence lines around the countryside and in some yards in town. These are listed as noxious in the new Alberta Weed Control Act so they must be controlled.

I was looking at the vines of my destroyed clematis and thought, maybe I can propagate these the same way I once grew some Virginia Creeper – by layering. Layering is a kind of vegetative propagation. It is an asexual as opposed to a sexual (cross pollination of flowers) means of making new plants. The genetic material is the same so the new plants will be clones. With sexual propagation, a mixing of genetic material occurs and when the resulting seeds are sown, there might be differences in the new plants.

The cuttings I took are called softwood cuttings because the plant already started to move water and nutrients around. Hardwood cuttings are those taken during dormancy when there is very little activity happening in the plant.

So, I took long cuttings of the vines and laid them in a soil trench about 3” – 4“ deep, covering all but a few buds on the growing tips. Roots should grow from the “nodes” or enlarged areas along the stems. After the roots grow, new shoots should emerge. The vines can then be cut between the new plants when they are ready to pot up or transplant.

It may take all summer, but hopefully, I'll get a few new blue clematis that I can plant in the fall. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy my new fence.

The Valley Neighbours Garden Club welcomes new members. For information call Bea at 403– 933–7131.

The Horticultural Club meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm. For information call Sheila at 403–931–3989.