Content
Rose is the queen of gardens and parks, she will never refuse such a representative of her court. Clematis Niobe is a worthy courtier of Her Majesty: tall, slender and noble, dressed in bright purple robes, edged with green velvet, not a single garden charm can resist him.
Description
Clematis (clematis or vine) belongs to the Buttercup family - it is a perennial herb, whose habitat is countries with a subtropical or temperate climate. Russia also became one of these countries after the Polish breeder Knoll bred winter-hardy varieties of cultivated clematis varieties that can survive in our difficult weather conditions. Clematis Niobe is one of these varieties.
Characteristic features of the Niobe variety:
- it is a perennial herb with vines-shoots growing up to 2-3 meters, with the help of strong tendrils growing on the stems, the plant is able to stay in a vertical plane by clinging to supports;
- trifoliate leaf plates, saturated green;
- flower petals are painted in many shades of red: burgundy, crimson, lilac, in the center of the flower there are elongated stamens, predominantly bright yellow, along the edges of the six petals there is a slight curl;
- flowers of large diameter, the largest specimens reach 15 cm;
- flowering of clematis niobe begins in the third year of planting and lasts from early summer to late autumn;
- the plant prefers neutral or slightly acidic fertile soils, well fertilized, loose;
- the landing site should be illuminated by the sun most of the day;
- clematis Niobe propagates vegetatively, that is, by rooting part of young shoots and cuttings;
- to strengthen the long and heavy vines of the climbing clematis Niobi, special supports are required, depending on the artistic composition conceived by the designers, they can be very diverse: high fences that need to be hidden, bare tree trunks, pergolas and peculiar arches.
The varieties of all clematis are divided into three groups according to the method of pruning, Niobe belongs to the third of them:
- The first group - the formation of flower ovaries occurs only on last year's vines.
- The second group is flowering on the gains of the current year and partially on the branches of the last year,
- The third group - flowers bloom only on vines that have grown this year.
We will tell you more about how to trim Niobe clematis a little later.
Landing
Clematis are grown in gardens to decorate them, creating compositions according to the ideas of landscape designers or the owners of the site themselves. Large plant sizes require adequate space, but if there is not much of it, gardeners have to choose a planting site more carefully.
Choosing a place and time for boarding
It is necessary to choose a place for planting this plant, taking into account many of the nuances and features of the plant:
- clematis niobe - it is a perennial plant, in one place, it can successfully grow for about 30 years;
- vines-stalks at clematis grow quickly and reach a height greater than human growth in only one season;
- plant it light-loving, when shaded, flowering is short and the size of the flowers is significantly reduced;
- the soil on the site where Niobe is supposed to be planted should be light and refined.
Young seedlings are planted in spring or autumn.
Selection of seedlings
The first rule when choosing clematis seedlings is to buy them only from those nurseries that specialize in the production of ornamental climbing plants. Perennial varieties and varieties should be chosen taking into account the territorial capabilities of your garden. For a small area, clematis with lower stems are suitable. Pay also attention to the group of pruning varietal clematis.
In the video, a representative of the nursery, where clematis planting material is prepared, talks about the assortment available in their store (data from 2014):
Soil requirements
The structure of the soil under clematis Niobe should be loose, good for air and moisture. Frequent watering compacts the soil, so it must be loosened, removed weeds, and in the spring it is good to mulch with compost, tree bark or sawdust.
How is landing
Clematis Niobe, like all types of these plants, requires deep planting in the soil... Planting holes are made quite deep (30-40 cm), plant seedlings should fit freely in them to a height of 10-15 cm above the root system. In order for the plant to start growing, and, therefore, begin to bloom at an earlier date, they are first planted in separate containers, how to do this correctly, see the attached video.
Care
Clematis care takes a lot of time only during the planting period, when you need to install trellises, supports and pergolas, and in the fall during the pruning of vines and preparing them for the winter period. The rest of the time, this is the usual care, as for all plants in the garden: feeding, loosening the soil, removing weeds, preventing diseases and harmful insects. One main nuance - clematis Niobe loves moisture very much, it will have to be watered more often than other flower plantings.
Top dressing
The main part of fertilizers: a large amount of organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil in spring. During the period of active growth and flowering, clematis is fed with complex additives containing the necessary elements: phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen.
Loosening and mulching
It is necessary to loosen the soil under the bushes regularly, this provides good aeration of the earth, which is important for any plant in the garden.
Watering
Clematis is often watered, as soon as the ground on the surface dries up a little, so that the water does not stagnate at the roots for too long, they equip the drainage of the site.
Pruning
Clematis Niobe belongs to the third pruning group, it blooms only on the shoots of the current year.
In the fall, all shoots of the current season are cut, leaving 2-3 pairs of the lowest buds (see diagram), since there is no need to keep them until the next season.
The trimmed plant material is crushed and sent to the compost heap, this waste rich in trace elements will still serve as a good fertilizer for spring plantings.
In the spring, the buds will start to grow rapidly and will bloom until next fall, until the next annual pruning, which is done once, so the hassle with clematis Niobe is much less than with other varieties.
Shelter for the winter
Clematis Niobe is winter-hardy, withstands sub-zero temperatures up to 30-40 degrees, but for insurance, you can use a winter insulating shelter in the form of a thick layer of sawdust (20-25 cm) and a layer of peat up to 10 cm.
Disease and pest control
This is not to say that clematis are resistant to all diseases and pests, they, like all plants in the garden, can be struck by a sudden disease or invasion of harmful insects. The most effective remedy is preventive treatment in the spring with special-purpose chemicals: Fundazol, Aktelik, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
Reproduction
Reproduction of clematis can be carried out 5-6 years after planting. There are many ways and methods of propagation, the main ones are cuttings, dividing the bush and rooting of cuttings.The clematis variety Niobe reproduces mainly by cuttings. In this case, cuttings up to 20 cm long with 3-4 healthy buds are cut from an adult bush in spring or early summer and planted in a separate place or in a container for rooting. In the fall, the cuttings are well covered for the winter, and in the spring they are planted in a permanent place.
Application in landscape design
For its beauty, a gorgeous combination of green leaves and large bright red flowers, Clematis Niobe has become popular with garden landscape designers. Masters of their craft skillfully use its excellent qualities in creating multi-tiered compositions for decorating gardens and parks.
Testimonials
Conclusion
It can be difficult to start any business, but over time, learning more and more about clematis, about the Niobe variety, you will gradually get used to the requirements of this fussy, create all favorable conditions for it and achieve annual abundant flowering from this, sometimes rebellious handsome man.
