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The wonder of nature is properly capitalized in the vines of these miracle plants.
The clematis is a plant that will amaze you with its growth pattern and leave your house looking like some Arabian castle.
The flexible vines of these plants make for the stem and within these stems grow very adorable flowers.
Clematis vines are perennials that grow all year round, in other words, they are evergreens. It is sometimes called leather plants because of its white flowers that look like leather.
The stem vines remain slender and tender until they are matured.
This plant genus contains about 300 species. The species also contain numerous subspecies, up to 297 subspecies.
You might have come across one of these species but you didn’t know it was a clematis. They grow best in temperate regions and do not need special potting soils to survive although, they would grow better in well-drained moist soil with a moderately humid environment.
You can trace the clematis to the plains of Japan from where it spread its vines, into Europe, and virtually every nation in the world.
The clematis vine is mythical in its ability to be both harmful and useful at the same time. This is however embedded in the quantity ingested.
Little quantities of its vines can be used to treat migraines and have been traced as mild additives for the cure of cancer and some chronic diseases.
This is not scientifically proven and resides only in herbal ideology.
When taken excessively, the clematis vines can lead to internal injury and bleeding of the small intestine.
These beautiful vines are great climbers that can cover walls providing both a touch of nature and an artistic appeal.
It can also be kept downward growing and creeping on the soil to serve as covers or organic mulch.
Pruning is needed when these vines have grown too bushy and extend beyond the limits of domestication.
While pruning, it is advised to wear a love because of the pricking abilities of some of the vines.
The vines and leaves serve as food to the butterfly larvae as well as most parasitic insects. The roots are affected by a fungal infection known as clematis wilt.
It is like the root rot fungus disease but this occurs in the stem rather than the roots. This can be easily controlled by vinegar or a broadleaf herbicide.
There are right ways to grow these vines and when done wrongly might lead to non-growth of the leaves.
The vines also need to be properly cared for, to avoid issues of stunted growth and curling of leaves.
All these have to be properly studied before taking on the responsibility to grow these vines.
The dicey part is in the act of growing these vines in a plant pot or a container indoors to provide beautification to the internal aesthetic design of the home.
This is the essence of this article, to guide you steadily through the many processes involved in growing a healthy clematis plant having beautiful vines that cover walls.
If you love nature, art, or just a feeling of purpose, you should get on this journey. You should challenge yourself to grow these perennials and sustain their life for more than one year.
You never can tell the many lessons you are bound to learn from growing these vines.
When I first started my journey on growing the clematis flowers, in containers, I was struggling to connect little dots in my life and I can gladly say that a disciplined doggedness towards ensuring that my clematis vines were growing into stronger vines, helped me connect these seemingly loose dots.
They would help you do even more. Keep reading to learn how to grow and care for these vines in a container.
Can You Grow Clematis Vines Indoors?
You can grow the clematis plant indoors in a plant pot just as you can grow any other plant indoors.
The vines however require great care while growing. This is because they are very tender at the growth stage and only get stronger as they get matured.
But, you need not have a phobia for growing these plants indoors because they are perennials that are adapted to survive harsh conditions.
So, yes, you can grow the clematis vines indoors. You should already have one growing at a corner in your house.
Best Soil For Clematis
The best soil for clematis is well-draining moist soil.
The clematis vines can survive in a range of soil conditions, but if you intend to plant the clematis vines indoors in a container, my advice is that you do so with potting soil that is made of peat and coconut coir.
This way, the plant has enough nutrients to aid its growth as well as good draining material- peat.
How To Grow Clematis in Containers
Shouldn’t you just dig some shallow hole around the house and propagate these vines to be an even better landscaping solution to the surrounding?
Why decide to grow in a container?
Well, the reasons are obvious if you are not living on your private property. You could be asked to relocate at any time of the year the owner deems fit.
And so, having your clematis vines growing somewhere on the soil where you wouldn’t be able to uproot it, amounts to a waste of gardening energy.
This is because you might not want to begin the process of growth all over again in your new environment, probably because work schedules have changed and gotten even tighter.
A plant container that can be moved from one location to another is surely your best bet to having the clematis plants feature in your life as a lifelong perennial.
Here is how to grow the clematis vines in a container:
- Buy a semi-grown clematis plant from a nursery during winter. During this period, there’s no active growth in plants so, a transplant shouldn’t disturb the plant’s functionality.
- You can decide to grow the clematis vines from seeds, but I must warn you that growing from seeds takes a considerable amount of time to fully mature, get established, and begin flowering.
- If you are getting the semi-grown plants from nurseries, ensure the ones you pick are robust and looking healthy, to avoid the risk of purchasing vines that already have fungus in them.
- The plants you just bought, need to be soaked in water for some hours before they are transferred into your prepared plant pot.
You should soak the plants as soon as you commence the plant container preparation.
- Water the soil properly before introducing the plants. Use the soaking method to get moist enough for the new plants.
- The soil you put in the container should contain peat moss and coconut coir for drainage and good nutrition
- Once you have planted the clematis vine, let it for a day or two and watch how the soil dries out.
- Design a watering routine for the plants. Water the vines every time the soil on which they are planted feels dry.
- Use simple herbicides and insecticides to keep pests and diseases away from your clematis vines.
How Do You Care For Clematis
Caring for the clematis vines isn’t an activity that should keep you on your feet for too long. It is usually easy to be done and gets better as the plants grow older.
This is because they become more resistant to diseases and can survive a long time even though they are not properly cared for.
The disadvantage of inadequate care for the vines of your clematis plant is the fact that they begin to exhibit stunted growth and might not bloom when they should.
A normal healthy clematis plant should bloom by spring and sometimes summer. You need to engage in the following gardening practices to properly care for the vines of your clematis plants.
- Water as at when due and do not let the plant suffer from drought stress.
- Keep the plant container in a place where adequate sunlight can get to it. This helps for photosynthesis and good food production.
- Even though deadheading is a good technique, do not practice it for your clematis vines.
Rather prune lightly at the top of the leaves when they have become canopy. Deadheading can inhibit growth.
- Choose a plant container that is deep and wide enough to contain the roots of the clematis.
A container that is too small will reduce the amount of water that can get to the plant, which eventually leads to drought stress.
- Keep the soil moist always, but not wet. Do not overwater the clematis vines.
Overwatering is a risk factor for the development of fungal root rot.
- Repotting is a procedure you should carry out on the plant at least once every year. This is to accommodate the growing roots and make room for further expansion.
You can always prune the roots as well as the plants when they are beginning to get too big for your indoor needs.
Conclusion
Imagine the walls of your lobby, filled with beautifully colored clematis vines.
Imagine the dining room filled with the scent of nature and the beauty of healthy clematis vines.
Do you know that your library is richer with flowers around? The clematis vines are easy to grow and care for in containers.
You already have the prerequisite knowledge to comfortably grow healthy clematis vines.
Remember, the clematis vines are perennials that can add color to your life and home.