FARIBAULT, Minn. — You never stop learning when it comes to gardening and growing things.
KARE 11's Laura Betker says she and her buddy Bobby Jensen expanded their knowledge about the beautiful vining flower clematis during a recent visit to Donahue’s Greenhouses in Faribault. They are the authority on the flower so many of us love.
For instance, clematis are a GREAT plant for the shade! There aren't many other shade plants that can develop such a big and showy flower with a minimum amount of sunshine. Just 2-3 hours of sun daily is enough for some clematis varieties, and dappled shade works too.
Silver Moon, Candy Stripe, Nelly Moser, Abilene, Claire de Lune and Viticella are among the clematis varieties that thrive in a shady spot. Or check out all the shade varieties on the Donahue website.
Even the sunny clematis varieties can handle quite a bit of shade. A mere four hours of sun each day is enough for a sun/part shade clematis. Full sun is great too. They are so versatile!
Here are some tips for planting clematis from Kathy Nass of Donahue's Greenhouse.
- Bury the plant a couple inches deeper than it is buried in the pot when you bring it home, leaves and all.
- Surround the roots of the clematis with other plants to keep the roots cool. Clematis like their “heads in the sun and feet in the shade”.
- Create a fabulous display by interplanting a clematis with a fruit or other small tree or shrub. The tree gives the clematis support, and the vines winds their way through and bloom beautifully between the branches. You’ll wow the neighbors with that trick!
- Fertilize your clematis regularly throughout the growing season from May through September.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more of Grow with KARE:
Watch the latest gardening tips and tricks in our YouTube playlist and don't forget to join the Grow with KARE Facebook group: