Gardeners Tips

Clematis is one of the worlds favourite flowers for climbing over fences and trellis.

The Family of Clematis

• The Clematis genus is from the family Ranunculaceae which is the same as the buttercup and many other plants. Winter Aconites – Eranthis hyemalis and Adonis amurensis start the flowering year along with other family members the Hellebores.
• In spring Anemone, Marsh Marigolds and buttercups take over.
• For summer consider Globe flowers or Trollius, Rue Thalictrum, Acquilegia, Delphinium, Aconitum, Larkspur and Love-in-a-mist or Nigella.
• Baneberries, Bugbane and Japanese Anemones round off the Ranunculaceae display in autumn.
• What a versatile and wide spread family.
• As with other members of the Ranunculaceae family there is a Clematis species or variety to flower in most seasons.

Why do Botanists make Choice So Complex?

• As a youngster I knew there was a plant called Clematis
• After a while I heard about three groups of clematis with different pruning rules. Group 1 are early flowering  species Group 2 are early flowering large flowered hybrids and Group 3 late flowering large flowering hybrids and species.
• Then in my latest gardening book there are a dozen groups and I particularly go for the C.Viticella
• Clematis cirrhosa flowers in December and if covered to protect from winter snow will survive our climate.
• The Clematis Montana rubens like Nelly Moser and Ville de Lyons are firm May favourites. C. jackmanii are large late flowerers
• C. Tetrosa has larger flowers. Small flowers Clematis tangutica and flammula are interesting varieties to seek out from your suppliers or friends.
• Clematis vitalba flowers in late autumn and produces interesting seed heads
• C. armandis are evergreen

Read Tips for Growing Clematis and Clematis Pruning

Daffodil Blindness occurs when daffodils fail to flower, i.e the green leaves appear, but no flowers. I am updating this post formerly released in 2014 as I have just experienced  annoying blind daffodils. I bought a pot of narcissus supposedly to produce a  ‘generous number of richly scented bicoloured blooms’ . From 5 bulbs I only got one stem with a sparse flower. I should have read this reminder first! I was blind sided when I bought them.

Causes of Daffodil Blindness

• Poor quality bulbs. If it is the first year of planting and your daffodils are blind, it is probably poor quality or new bulbs. If you buy bulbs from a reputable supplier, they really should be flowering in the first year, however you treat them.
• Planting Depth too Shallowly. Many people fail to plant daffodils sufficiently deep. If bulbs are too close to the surface they tend to suffer from a lack of water and food, therefore they fail to flower.
• Crowded Bulbs. If bulbs are planted too closely together, then they will be competing with each other for food and water and more likely to have insufficient food for themselves.
• Drought / Lack of Nutrient. If there is a lack of water in previous year they may come up next year as blind.
• Disease. It is possible disease reduces strength of daffodils.
• Leaves cut off after flowering. Unfortunately, people like to tidy their garden and cut off unsightly leaves. But, this prevents them from gaining enough strength. You can deadhead (so they don’t waste energy producing seed) but you should only cut back leaves when they start turning yellow.
• Aging. Older bulbs can become ‘tired’ and less likely to flower as the years go by.

How To Solve Daffodil Blindness

• Unfortunately, once daffodils come up blind, you may have to be very patient and wait one or two years for them to regain strength to flower. In some cases, you might prefer to dig up and replant new bulbs in the autumn.
• However, if you want you can try to make them reflower. If they were planted too shallow, you can dig up and replant at proper depth (3 times bulb length). E.g. 5 cm big bulb should be planted 15cm below soil surface.
• If blindness is caused by overcrowding, it is definitely worth digging up and trying to split. Planting at proper spacings (2-3 distance of width of bulb)
• Water and Feed. One of the best ways to prevent daffodil blindness is to water with liquid feed when the leaves are green. This helps strengthen bulb for next year.
• Keep weeds at bay. Weeding with hoe prevents weeds competing for water. It also helps to keep daffodil fly ‘narcissus fly’ at bay.
• Keep splitting bulb stock and giving new ‘child’ bulbs chance to grow.