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And the plot in front of the house, and a small courtyard, and even a balcony with a terrace can be transformed beyond recognition if you decorate them with a blooming liana. Clematis is best suited for this task. In this article, we will talk about the Piilu variety clematis, its description, photos and reviews of gardeners growing it in various parts of our country will be given.
Description and characteristics of the variety
The Piilu variety clematis was created by Estonian breeder Uno Kivistik in 1984. After several years of testing, the variety got its real name, which means "little duckling" in Estonian.
This variety of clematis is compact, therefore, unlike many of its counterparts, it can be grown not only in the garden, but also on the terrace, and even on the balcony, if planted in a sufficiently spacious container.
Individual shoots grow no more than 1.6-2 meters in length. And, according to reviews of gardeners who grow Clematis Piilu in rather harsh climatic conditions, the length of its shoots may not exceed 90 cm at all.
The flowers are of medium size, can reach a diameter of 10-12 cm. The flowers themselves, or rather the sepals, have a very beautiful pink-lilac color. A dark pink stripe stands out from the base of the petals in their center. And the anthers at the same time have a bright yellow color. This combination makes Clematis Piilu flowers very attractive to any lover of these wonderful plants.
Each simple flower contains 4-6 petals with a wavy edge, while double flowers have 3-4 times more petals.
But on the shoots of the current year, only simple, non-double single flowers appear.
The bushes of this variety are distinguished by moderate growth and grow upward, clinging to the supports with petioles from the leaves. Flowering usually begins in June, but in favorable conditions, an adult bush that has survived the winter well, can bloom very early in the middle, or even early May. Flowering is very abundant - the whole bush is completely covered with wide-open flowers. In August - September, Clematis Piilu produces a second wave of flowering, already on the shoots of the current year.
Gardeners have many questions about which pruning group Clematis Piilu belongs to. Of course, according to the official classification, this clematis belongs to the second pruning group, if only because it can bloom both on the shoots of the past and the current year.
But many growers living in areas with severe winters, trying to grow clematis in their plots, noticed that many of them belong, as it were, to the transitional 2-3 group. That is, there are clearly expressed representatives of the 2nd group, mainly Japanese hybrids and terry beauties, which are able to bloom early and abundantly only on last year's shoots. And on young shoots they bloom too late, rather reluctantly, and under adverse weather conditions during the summer they may not bloom at all.
The same clematis that belong to the transitional group 2-3 are equally abundant and bloom well both on young and last year's shoots. It is to this transitional group that the Piilu clematis variety belongs. The only difference is that, as mentioned earlier, during the second wave of flowering, the plant does not form double flowers.
Landing features
The place for planting clematis must be chosen with great care - after all, the main feature of these perennial vines is that they absolutely cannot stand spring flooding. True, Clematis Piilu is able to grow even in containers, and in this case, care must be taken to put a good layer of drainage in the growing container.
If you decide to plant Clematis Piila in the garden, then it is advisable to choose a sunny place for it, protected from drafts, but, most importantly, on a small hill so that there is no stagnation of moisture at the roots.
It is possible to plant clematis in a permanent place both in spring and in autumn, but for the middle lane and more northern regions, the spring period is preferable, since it allows the plants to root well during the warm season. Since Clematis Piilu, like many other varieties, can grow in one place for up to 20 years, its planting must be taken very responsibly. It is best to dig a planting hole or trench (if you want to plant several plants) with a depth and width of at least 60 cm in advance, about 2 weeks before planting.
At the bottom, lay drainage in the form of small stones or crushed stone, with a layer of about 5 cm, then a layer of cut branches and various organic waste mixed with sand that is twice as thick. Clematis does not tolerate acidic soils, so lime can be added to the same layer.
From above, everything is carefully covered with garden soil with the addition of humus, compost, complex mineral fertilizer and sand - the main thing is that the soil is loose, light, air and water permeable. The landing site is then spilled abundantly and kept moist until planting.
The planting depth of a clematis seedling depends on the region where you are going to grow it. In the northern regions, seedlings should never be buried - it is better to plant them at the same level at which they grew in the container. It is better to subsequently pour humus to the roots every year and mulch the planting site. But in the southern regions, the clematis seedling Piilu must be deepened into the ground by 8-12 cm.
The distance between the seedlings of Piilu clematis can be left about 80-100 cm so that they do not interfere with each other when they grow.
Grooming and pruning
In caring for the Piilu clematis variety, it is important to observe the following basic requirements:
- Watering should be regular and fairly abundant, especially in hot and arid southern areas where the vine can be watered almost every day. In more northern regions, watering 2-3 times a week will be sufficient.
- For the first year after planting, clematis may have enough fertilizers laid in the pit during planting. But from the second year of life, clematis must be fed regularly, at least 4 times per season. You can use complex mineral fertilizers, such as Kristallon, or any organic matter: humus, compost, humates.
- Clematis Piilu hates neighborhood weeds... In order not to suffer much with weeding, every spring it is advisable to mulch well the entire root zone of clematis bushes.
- At some distance from the root zone of clematis, you can plant low annuals, which will protect the roots well from heat or excessive dryness.
Pruning Piilu clematis is not as difficult as it might seem. In the autumn, before the onset of the first frosts, it is necessary to cut off last year's shoots, on which the most powerful flowering occurred, almost to the base (leave about 10 cm). Tips for pruning young shoots vary from source to source - they can be trimmed leaving from 80 cm to 150 cm. You will choose the right length for your region experimentally.In northern regions with harsh winters, all shoots of Piilu clematis are cut to 3-4 buds for the winter. Thus, care for him in these regions is carried out according to the 3rd group of pruning, which can only affect the presence of double flowers.
Gardeners reviews
Gardeners who grow Piilu clematis on their plots leave extremely positive reviews about this decorative vine.
Conclusion
The variety of clematis Piilu is relatively unpretentious to growing conditions, it can show itself in all its glory even in not very experienced hands, and it can be used to decorate various parts of the garden and the local area.
