These tips for growing clematis will help you give this vining plant a home in your back yard.
Last spring, I repurposed an old mailbox into a place for my garden tool storage. I planted a few different plants around the base, but I was never happy with the look of it.
I decided I wanted a climbing plant to cover the post and grow up around the mailbox itself to decorate it.
I wanted a perennial that would come back year after year and chose clematis because it is such a good climber.
Clematis is a perennial and some varieties will get really large, so it is important to keep this in mind, particularly if you plan on growing it in a pot.
Like mandevilla vine, some types of clematis will grow 15 feet or more, so may need regular pruning to keep it in check.
Growing Clematis plants is easy with these few steps.
Growing clematis plants is not difficult. The flowers are large and showy and the plant does a good job of covering trellises or posts in no time at all.
They are one of the few blue flowers that I have in my garden. (well sort of a purple blue, but with blue flowers, you can’t be choosy!) Here are some growing tips for clematis.
Sunlight and water needs for clematis
Clematis grows best when it gets 3-6 hours of sunlight. Ideally, place clematis so that the top of the plant grows in sun and have the root zone be shaded by other plants.
Water when the top of inch of the soil is dry. They need about an inch a week.
Soil needs and fertilization requirements for clematis
Choose a well draining soil. Adding compost at planting time will add extra nourishment to your soil, particularly if it has too much clay.
Feed once a month during the growing season with a well balanced fertilizer.
Size of clematis and blooming time
Growth is normally 3-15 feet tall for a mature plant. Prune to keep it a manageable size.
Clematis blooms from early summer until fall.
To promote re-flowering a second time during the growing season, the vine can be cut by one-half after the main bloom period.
Clematis varieties can bloom on old wood, both old and new wood, and new wood only. Pruning needs to done depending on which variety you have.
Mine blooms on old wood, so it should be pruned as soon as it flowers. Those the bloom on new wood only, just remove growth from the previous year.
And if it blooms on both old and new, prune once it gets crowded.
Does clematis need support?
Provide the clematis with good support. Once the vine starts growing, gently tie them onto the support using twine or yarn.
Proper vertical support will allow your clematis to become bushier and taller, leading to more foliage and a greater amount of flowering.
A wooden garden obelisk is a good choice for support. It is functional and decorative as well.
Clematis also does a good job of hiding a chain link fence is planted near one.
Problems for clematis plants
Clematis is susceptible to fungi that can cause the vine to suddenly wilt and turn brown or black.
Carefully prune out all diseased tissue and disinfect your pruners with a bleach solution.
Be on the lookout for thrips, aphids, caterpillars and whiteflies, which can all infest clematis.
Hardiness zones for clematis
The plant is quite hardy. Mine will take temps to -30 degrees Fahrenheit. It is cold hardy in zones 4-9.
This is my beauty. Can’t wait to plant it near the mail box. Hopefully this week!
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24 responses to “Growing Clematis – Great Vine for Mailboxes”
I found planting Hosta’s at the foot of my Clematis trelles, helps shade their roots…
good idea. I love hostas too!
You have inspired me to give these a try. I am goin to plant these around my deck providing I can find them.
I got mine at Walmart this year.
I just bought two small clematis plants at my local Home Depot and plan to plant them by our mailbox, which is next to the road on a post. I assume the best way to give them the support they need is to install round hooks in the post and string wire or twine between the hooks. Any feedback on my plan would be much appreciated. I have always wanted a clematis, but never had the proper conditions and now I think I do, so I’m very excited to plant these little gems.
I am sort of in the same situation. I killed the first clematis I had last year, This year I also bought one at Home Depot. It has a trellis in it but I bought a larger wire trellis from the dollar tree and will use that. Your idea should work though. I use string like that for beans and cucumbers and they climb on it just fine. Clematis has tendrils sort of like theirs.
Carol (the flowers are just gorgeous aren’t they?)
I think I have one exactly like yours! It’s the biggest/best blooming one I have. Nice post and your blooms are lovely.
the flowers are amazing aren’t they Karen? Carol
These are beautiful pictures. And a lovely post. I am always curious how the clematis winds to nicely around the mailbox posts.
Will this stay Green year round? I do not care about the blooms
Hello. It depends on where you live but generally, no, clematis is a perennial that dies back in the winter months. If you live in tropical zones, it way stay green and flower through the whole year.
Carol
I have grown clematis for a couple years and love them. I have been looking for this exact color as you have pictured and have had no luck in finding this shade. Do you know the name of this particular variety? I’d appreciate any info on this. Thank you.
Carol
Hi Carol. This variety is called “ice blue”. I got it at a local walmart about 3 years ago. Carol
If my mailbox and post-surround are plastic (fits over a wooden post, but the wood is not exposed), will clematis not grow and thrive?
If it will work, do I provide a trellis right away, or will supporting clematis by tying it as it grows to the mailbox suffice instead of a trellis?
The mailbox is on the west side of the property and will get sun from 11-12 on then all afternoon. Is that too much? Is there a concern for overheating the roots?
Hi Kevin,
I have some clematis climbing on a plastic trellis right now. I don’t think that will matter. It is easier to get it to climb with a trellis but it will attach and climb around most anything. It’s pretty persistent in this regard.
Mine is sitting in the sun right now, but it does get burned here in NC from too much sun. I don’t think the roots will suffer, but the leaves may from that much sun.
Carol
How many plants to start out, just one, two (one on either side), or four, for each of the four sides?
Hi Kevin. I would start with two. I bought one last year that I have in a largish planter. It is really big this year. I think four would be too many. Four would be a good show this year, but maybe too many next.
Carol
So you don’t plant in ground? You keep in planter, then bring inside for winter?
I have done it both ways. In the ground and in a planter. But I leave it outside in the winter. (zone 7b it winters over just fine.)
Carol
do all clematis bloom all year? Mine only blooms in the spring and early summer.
Do all clematis bloom all summer? Mine only blooms in the spring and early summer. I would like it to bloom longer. So do i need a different one?
Hi Donna. It depends on the variety. Most are early bloomers, but you can encourage a second bloom time with careful pruning of the plant. Carol
Does the clematis need wood to climb on? I have a new plastic mailbox and I want to plant something around it. I cut a couple trees and will wait until spring to see how much sun I have.
I had a plastic trellis once and it climbed on that, so I don’t think it needs wood.