Undemanding leather flower

Leather flower or traveller’s joy (Clematis L) is a genus of climbing plants with woody stems and colourful flowers. You may have seen white, yellow, pink, blue, purple, or multi-coloured flowers.

These beauties will improve the look of your garden, terrace and balcony and you can spot them almost everywhere. They are undemanding plants and with proper care they will grow even at places where you would not expect them to.

Growing clematis in your garden

Clematis blooms a lot during the growing season, but you need to provide optimized soil (acidity pH 6 to pH 7) and the right amount of water and minerals. They grow best with proper support and in partial shade. There is one rule though. Never expose clematis roots to the sun. The best spot is a south-facing place near the house.

Photo: Pixabay

Also keep in mind that these plants require specific lighting conditions. The green part requires sunlight, and the lower part requires relatively strong shade. Go figure. You can do that for example, by planting low perennials around clematis…

Other requirements

Clematis needs suitable support to climb. A circular structure with a diameter of no more than 2.5 cm is great. If you plant in pots, make sure to plant only those with well-developed root balls. Clematis also requires plenty of minerals and you need to fertilize throughout the growing season. You may start 14 days after planting. If you are experiencing dry weather, water frequently but use small amount of water. The soil around the plant should always moist a bit.

In late autumn you need to cut clematis to a height of 15 – 30 cm and in winter you need to protect it from low temperatures. This you can do by covering plants with bark or sawdust.

Source: https://www.receptyprimanapadu.cz/zahrada/poteste-se-kazdy-rok-zaplavou-kvetu-poridte-si-na-zahradu-plamenek/, https://www.ireceptar.cz/zahrada/plamenek-pestovani-30000428.html, https://www.ceskestavby.cz/clanky/pestovani-plamenku-v-zahrade-jake-vybrat-a-kam-se-hodi-28067.html

Preview photo: Pixabay