Clematis Andromeda

Clematis Andromeda is considered to be a climbing tall liana shrub that has abundant enough flowering. This clematis is characterized as a large-flowered plant and starts flowering early enough. In just one season, Clematis Andromeda can completely braid completely different supporting structures, as well as hide one wall of a structure, a fence or any other fence, an unsightly gazebo. Clematis Andromeda is actively used by landscape designers in the form of vertical gardening. We will talk in more detail about this beautiful clematis in this article, and also consider all the features of its cultivation and care.

Clematis Andromeda: variety description

Clematis Andromeda: photo of the variety

Clematis Andromeda is characterized as an early flowering and two-colored subspecies of clematis, which produces rather large flowers with a diameter of 20 centimeters, provided that the plant grows in favorable weather conditions. The shoots of the plant are on average 3.5 meters long. The flowers have a light creamy shade tending to white, and in the center of a single petal there is a stripe on the inside of a bright pink shade. The core of such flowers is yellow in color. In the spring and summer seasons, this clematis forms semi-double flowers, and in the autumn they are solitary. The first flowering begins on last year's old shoots, they give out a huge number of buds. And the second flowering of this plant is not as abundant as compared to the first.

Clematis Andromeda: Pruning Group

Judging by the characteristics of this variety, Clematis Andromeda belongs to the second type of pruning. This means that a small part is immediately removed from its faded shoots together with the seedlings. This is done in order to stimulate a repeat flowering period. And due to this, this variety of clematis can produce much more buds in the autumn. And for the winter, the plant is not pruned so superficially. At this time, only 60-75 centimeters remain of the length of the shoots.

Clematis Andromedas planting and care

Clematis Andromeda: photo of the variety

This large-flowered plant of this variety is quite unpretentious, although in some moments it is quite demanding. Planting Clematis Andromeda is recommended immediately to a permanent place of growth, since he is extremely negative about transplants. If this cannot be avoided, and the transplantation procedure is absolutely necessary, then for several years after that the shrub will bloom rather weakly, and its growth will be much slower. This happens because during this period the plant threw all its strength into adapting and rooting its roots, all nutrients will be directed to such rooting. It should be noted right away that the planting of this variety of clematis in an open space does not occur earlier than the last days of May, since the soil has not yet been warmed up to the required extent until that time.

Before planting this variety of clematis, you should correctly choose a place for its growth. To do this, the following tips will help you:

• - The growth of this shrub is extremely negatively influenced by gusty and through winds, therefore, the landing site should be chosen sufficiently protected from drafts, with easy blowing.
• - To get a good development, the shrub needs a sufficiently strong and stable support.That is why this plant is most often planted near the walls of structures or various fences. Moreover, the distance between the clematis and the supporting object should be at least half a meter. In the case of planting a plant near a metal fence, this distance is increased so that when heated in the sun, the metal frame cannot burn the foliage and shoots of the shrub.
• - Excessive sunlight can also negatively affect this clematis, so it is best to choose a place with a little shade. Otherwise, the flowers of this plant will wither quickly enough.
• - An excellent option for the growth of this plant will be finding it on moderately moist soil, with a high content of humus. Sandy loam or loamy soil is ideal.
• - It is strictly forbidden to plant this shrub in a lowland, or in a place next to which there is a bed of groundwater, since such an excess and stagnation of liquid can have a detrimental effect on the roots of clematis. For prevention, during the planting of clematis, drainage soy is laid at the bottom of the dug hole, in order to avoid stagnation of moisture.

To prepare a site for planting this clematis, you should dig up the soil well and add fertilizing to it with fertilizers, most often it is humus. But you should know a very important fact that feeding with manure is strictly prohibited for this plant, otherwise such fertilization will lead to rather severe burns of the clematis root system.

Seedlings of this plant for planting should be purchased for two years, as they take root best. But before you buy a young plant, carefully examine it. The seedling should have fairly developed roots, this is when a young plant has at least three long roots of 10 centimeters each, then we can assume that the seedling is quite strong and healthy. Before planting a seedling in the ground, it must first be prepared. To do this, it is soaked for 3 hours in approximately cold water.

When planting a seedling of this variety, a number of features should be observed, such as:

• - On a preselected and prepared area, a hole is dug, with an approximate depth of 75 centimeters, and a width of 50 centimeters. The best distance between holes is 65 centimeters.
• - A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the hole, with an approximate thickness of 20 centimeters. In the form of drainage, you can use clay shards, broken brick, expanded clay, pebbles, or gravel.
• - On top of the drainage layer, a fertile soil mixture is poured, consisting of: the top layer of garden soil, which was obtained from this hole, as well as compost and humus in equal proportions. All this is mixed and diluted with 300 grams of dolomite flour, 100 grams of superphosphate, as well as two tablespoons of ordinary ash.
• - The resulting soil mixture is poured into the dug hole, and half asleep is poured into it, while forming a small mound. A prepared seedling is placed on this mound and its roots are carefully spread along the slopes.
• - Next, the hole is completely covered with the remnants of the prepared soil mixture, not forgetting to deepen the root collar of the plant by about 12 centimeters.
• - After planting a young plant, it should be watered abundantly.

As experienced gardeners advise, in order to maintain the necessary moisture in the soil, the trunk circle of a young shrub should be mulched. As a mulch, ordinary ash is perfect.

This variety of clematis does not like an excess of liquid in the soil, therefore, the watering procedure for this plant is carried out in a moderate amount and volume. In normal weather, one watering procedure per week will be sufficient. But in dry and very hot weather, the amount of watering is increased to three times a week. During prolonged rains, it is not worth watering the plant.It should be noted that one shrub should consume about 30 liters of water at a time, and 20 liters is enough for young seedlings. The best time of the day for watering is considered late evening, thanks to which the chance of getting a burn on the plant is reduced to a minimum.

To get a good and full development, this variety of clematis requires regular feeding procedures, both organic and mineral fertilizers. The procedure for feeding the trunk circle of the shrub is carried out at least four times in one season, and these actions are performed only after rain or good watering.

Top dressing can be done according to the following scheme:

• - For the first three years of the plant's life, it is fed with a solution of dolomite flour, in the following ratio: about 200 grams of substance per 10 liters of water. Moreover, the water must be settled and warm without fail.
• - In the spring, top dressing is made from a urea solution, for this you need to dissolve 1 teaspoon of urea in 10 liters of water.
• - In the summer, the bush is fertilized with mineral fertilizers, or with a solution of mullein, which is diluted in a ratio of 1 to 10. At the very beginning of June, ammonium nitrate is introduced into the soil, and 50 grams of it is dissolved in 10 liters of liquid and no more than one should fall on each bush buckets. The best option for feeding will be with a time interval of 1.5 weeks. It is also important to alternate the types of dressings.
• - After the end of the flowering period, this subspecies of clematis is usually fed with fertilizers based on potassium or phosphorus.
• - In the autumn, it will be good to add wood ash to the soil, and in a liquid form. A solution is made and it goes to one plant about half a liter.

It is important to know and remember that during the flowering period of this shrub, all feeding procedures are stopped.

The variety of clematis Andromeda is very sensitive to soil overheating, which is why it needs to be mulched with its trunk circle. The best thing would be to mulch with a layer of 15 centimeters. Plus, you can slightly shade the bottom of the shrub with small garden crops, for example, daylilies and astilbe. Moreover, they will not only serve as some protection from the sun for the root system of the shrub, but will also be able to remove an excess of liquid from the soil. In this way, stagnation of moisture in the soil can be avoided. The loosening procedure is most often done in months such as June and September. It is produced so that oxygen can freely pass to the roots of the bush.

The procedure for pruning clematis Andromeda is performed for this plant in the autumn. To do this, a cut is made at a height of about one and a half meters (you need to keep 12-15 knots). Although for the winter period there are only a maximum of 10 of the healthiest and strongest shoots, which are covered for insulation with a covering material, from winter frosts. All this should be done before the cold weather arrives, and the weather should be dry, the temperature can be minus 5-7 degrees. First of all, damaged and dried parts are removed from the shoots. Further, the shoots are removed from their support and laid out on the boards laid out in advance, which are nearby. The plant is sprinkled on top with dried foliage, hay, or straw and a frame is built. The covering material is stretched on the supports, and in such a way that the shrubbery is protected from precipitation and at the same time so that it can breathe. With the arrival of spring warming, when the night frosts pass, the clematis shelter is gradually removed. Otherwise, the shrub may suffer from damping.

Reproduction of clematis

Clematis Andromeda: photo of the variety

There are several ways of breeding clematis of this subspecies. Here they are: pinning, layering, dividing the bush and the seed method. The most effective and best way is to form layering. It is carried out in this way:

• - A fairly healthy and strong shrub, about five years old, is completely dug up, and this is done very carefully so as not to damage the roots of clematis.
• - At the same time, the earthy clod must be preserved, shaking off the excess only from the roots.
• - Further, the bush is divided in such a way that on each separate part there is at least one bud on the root collar of the plant, and also has developed roots.
• - Immediately after these actions, it is required to plant all the divisions that have turned out on new plots. From this it follows that the landing holes should be prepared in advance.
• - After the transplant procedure, the bushes should be watered moderately.

Although the plant cannot avoid stress during transplantation, the delenki still adapt rather quickly and take root in their new place of growth.

Diseases and pests

This variety of clematis is completely unattractive for the attack of insect pests, and besides, it has a high level of endurance to a large number of diseases, and this, naturally, cannot but rejoice. Due to such features, shrubs are not required for additional treatment with chemical agents for prevention, but sometimes it happens that the foliage and stems of a plant are infected with a fungus. In this case, the treatment will not cause much difficulty, most often it will be enough to treat the shrub with a 2% solution of the Azocel preparation, or with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. The drug Fundazol can also cope with this nuisance remarkably, plus all its action is milder than other chemical agents. But if the disease has caused serious damage, that is, more than half of the plant, then the shrub in this case is dug up and disposed of by burning.

Clematis Andromeda: variety reviews

Clematis of the Andromeda variety, although it is considered a rather demanding crop, at the same time, it is also a rather unpretentious plant. With timely and high-quality care, it will delight you with its appearance, extraordinary beauty and abundant flowering, which takes place twice in one season, and this shrub will also become a magnificent decoration for any completely vertical surface. He will be able to hide all the flaws and unsightly moments on the walls, gazebos or fences. This variety will look especially impressive for shrubs against a background of a dark shade.
There are many reviews on the Internet about this plant. Here are some of them:

- Personally, I did not like the variety of clematis Andromeda. Initially attracted by the picture with him, acquired, it turned out in the end something completely different. Quite poor flowering, and freezes in winter. And I saw flowers only once, and even then they were single.
Irina, Moscow

- Once the shoots of my clematis Andromeda froze in winter, so the next time I made a shelter and everything was in order. True, it blooms as abundantly as described, but most likely this is due to the fact that there was no quality care and the mistakes I made when growing. I am not an experienced florist, so I don't do everything quite well. One thing is just insulting - I thought that the bush would be in a strongly lit place. Initially, the plant was in the shade of a nearby tree, but then we cut it down, thereby opening all the sunlight for clematis. Therefore, as a result, the flowering period has decreased.
Galina, Tula