FEEDING CLEMATIS

Is it too early to start feeding cat.2 clematis which have already started to produce buds and a glimer of leaves.,

feed when they come into flower and now if your in drought area ,water every day they like damp feet that are in the shade and their heads in the sun.I know if its dry weather and I do not water each day they are not so good .feed once a fortnight when they beginning to flower .

what is "drought"!! just joking as it hasn't stoped raining where I live since october

I know wht you mean, centuri!

A bit of a mulch now would be good, too.

Treat as if they are roses. Buy some rose fertiliser and follow instructions which probably say first feed about now. Most fertilisers are small variations on the same theme of nitrogen potash and potassium. Given that you don't know what is already in the soil how can it really matter which combination fertiliser you use on whichever plant. The plant will say thank you and get on with life. Feed for tubs and containers...use tomato feed...simple!!

This method also has advantage of allowing you to buy the biggest packet/ bottle of fertiliser you can find...much the most economical. beware small containers...a ripoff.

I prune, the ones that need it, late February/ early March, and feed with Sulphate of potash, water in and the feed again with rose fertilizer or any all purpose food when in bud, and again occasionally through out the growing season.

I now only grow the viticella type clematis as I find they are far less trouble and do not suffer from clematis wilt like group 1 and 2. Mulch generously once you have watered the fertilizer in.

After all the rain we've had the ground will be ready for a good feed.

i so agree about the tomato fertiliser for anything that flowers. Cheaper and perfectly effective. I might make an exception for roses because they are such greedy feeders.