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Clematis are perennial climbing plants belonging to the Ranunculaceae family. These are very popular flowers that are used for decorative vertical gardening of house adjoining areas. Usually adult clematis bushes bloom beautifully and luxuriantly, but it happens that flowering is weak or absent altogether. Information about what causes this “behavior” of a plant and what to do to make it bloom will be useful to many beginners, and not only gardeners.
The main reasons for the lack of flowering
There are many such reasons. For example, a lot depends on the variety chosen, the place where the plant is placed, whether it is planted correctly or not, how it is cared for, and much more.
Clematis may not bloom if:
- The plant is planted in the wrong place or planted incorrectly.
- The soil is too acidic or wet.
- The seedling was damaged or sick.
- The bush is not properly cared for.
- There are few nutrients in the soil.
- The plant is overgrown with weeds.
- The bush has reached the age of physiological aging.
- The plant is weakened by diseases or pests.
- The bush is not pruned according to the pruning rules recommended for the group to which the variety belongs.
The lack of flowering can be caused by one or several reasons at once.
All he needs is timely competent care so that he can take root well and grow healthy, powerful shoots. Clematis begins to bloom at 2-4 years.
Improper fit and care
In order for clematis to bloom profusely and annually, it must grow in a well-lit place, but not in the sun. The best site for this creeper is where there is a lot of sun in the mornings and evenings, and during the day everything is in partial shade. In addition, the place under clematis should be protected from wind and drafts, as the plant does not like them. That is why clematis are often planted near buildings or fences, not only because they serve as a support, but also because in such places optimal conditions are created for their development.
The second condition for proper planting is suitable soil, which should be fertile, but light, loose, air and moisture permeable.
It should not be acidic, if there is such a soil on the site, then it must be limed by adding lime or dolomite flour to it. The ideal soil reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline.
Planting pits should be deep and wide enough (at least 0,7 m) so that the root system of the seedling fits into it without problems. At the bottom of the pits, drainage from broken bricks or crushed stone should be laid, and a mixture of 0,15 kg of complex fertilizers, 0,2 kg of dolomite flour and 2 cups of ash should be added. The distance between them during group planting of plants should be at least 1-1,5 m: this is exactly what is needed for them to develop successfully.
It is also important to plant clematis correctly: its root neck should be located 10-15 cm below the soil level (1-2 internodes). If the plant is already an adult and planted too high, then you need to spud it like a potato. How to properly plant a clematis seedling, and what mistakes to avoid, is shown in the photo.
Nutrient deficiencies and bush aging
Clematis is a perennial liana, able to live in one place for decades without a transplant. (20-40 years). But, like all living beings, it ages, so over time, its flowers begin to shrink, their number is reduced, as is the duration of flowering.
However, young clematis may not bloom if they lack nutrition. Therefore, every gardener needs to make it a rule to feed his vines, starting from the second season after planting. To do this, every spring at the very beginning of the growing season, the bushes need to be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. Nitrogen stimulates the growth of young shoots and leaves. The green mass allows the bush to develop well and store strength for subsequent flowering.
During the period of budding and flowering, clematis require a complex mineral fertilizer containing phosphorus and trace elements. Phosphorus allows the plant to form bright and large flowers and maintain the duration of flowering. Already after its completion, the bushes are fed with organic matter so that they have time to prepare for the winter period. As an additional nutrition and improvement of soil characteristics, peat is scattered around the bushes throughout the season.
It is also important to ensure that clematis is not overgrown with weeds and that any other cultivated plants do not grow too close to it: they will take food from it, which, of course, will affect flowering.
vermin
Even the most resistant plants have pests and diseases, and clematis is no exception. It can be affected by a nematode that settles on the roots and depletes the bush, slugs, bedbugs, aphids, mealybugs. Roots can be eaten by bears, and small rodents are not only roots, but also shoots.
You need to deal with all these pests at the first sign of infection, otherwise you can not wait for flowering. Destruction methods:
- Nematode – the introduction of nematocides into the soil a month before planting a seedling.
- Aphids, bedbugs and worms – spraying the plant with insecticides or a solution of tobacco dust.
- Slugs – treatment of plants with insecticides, 1% copper sulfate or collection of animals by hand.
- Rodents – setting traps and baits with zoocides.
Clematis can be subject to diseases such as gray rot, rust, alternariosis, leaf spot, yellow mosaic, verticillium wilt, fusarium. To prevent infection of clematis, the soil around the bushes must be mulched with a mixture of sand and ash in a ratio of 10 to 1, and if the plant is already infected, treat it with fungicides.
Additional factors
Flowering and, in general, the well-being of the plant is also influenced by how it overwinter. Clematis do without shelter only in the southern regions, in the rest they need to be covered. Plants are covered before the onset of cold weather, after pruning. In the spring, the shelter is removed, the shoots are tied to supports so that the clematis can start the new season.
What to do so that clematis grows well and blooms
If you start in order, then, first of all, you need to choose a strong and healthy seedling. It should be a 1-2 year old plant, with a well-developed root system and several buds (for varieties that require pruning for the winter) healthy, thin, intact shoots up to 0,2 m long (for other varieties) and green leaves (not light and not dark).
When choosing a seedling, you need to consider what variety it belongs to in order to properly trim it in the future. This is important, since all clematis are divided into 3 groups precisely according to the method of pruning. If clematis is supposed to be planted near the building, then you need to maintain a distance from the wall of at least 0,5 m and put a decorative support near the bush to direct the plant in the right direction.
Twice top dressing
Without top dressing, it is impossible to get clematis, which blooms attractively and profusely. For this plant, you can apply a scheme in which a small amount of fertilizer is applied 2 times a month, starting from April-May, when the shoots begin to grow. First, clematis is fertilized with a weak solution of mullein (1 tablespoon per 10 liters) or bird droppings (1 tablespoon per 15 liters). A bucket of such liquid is poured under each bush. When nitrogen fertilizer is used a second time, then saltpeter is used (1 tsp per bucket).
With the onset of flowering time, ash is used instead of manure, superphosphate and potassium salt instead of saltpeter. Fertilizers are applied in the same doses as nitrogen. The liquid is poured not under the root, but at some distance from it. On acidic soils, lime milk is used, which is prepared from 0,3 kg of garden lime and 10 liters of water.
Stimulants
Clematis responds well to top dressing with synthetic flowering stimulants. After their application, its flowering becomes more magnificent and intense, the buds and flowers become larger, and the color of the petals becomes brighter. For these purposes, you can use humates, special preparations, for example, Bud, Zircon, Epin, etc. Treatments can be carried out repeatedly during the entire flowering period.
Watering
Clematis are watered regularly, about once every 2 weeks, and in extreme heat, the frequency of watering is increased. The volume of water poured under each bush should be such that the soil is moist at a depth of at least 0,5-0,7 m (approximately 3-4 buckets per adult bush).
You can also dig 3-4 pieces of wide plastic water pipes near the bush, directing them obliquely towards the plant and pour water into them. To reduce the rate of evaporation of moisture, the soil around the bushes must be mulched with straw, hay, and a dry leaf. If there is no mulch, then loosening should be carried out after each watering.
Trimming
Clematis pruning is very important: if it is done incorrectly, the bush will bloom poorly or will not bloom at all. All clematis are divided into 3 groups:
- 1 – varieties that bloom on last year’s shoots;
- 2 – varieties blooming on last year’s and current year’s shoots;
- 3 – varieties blooming on young shoots of the current year.
That is why, if the pruning was done incorrectly: all shoots were cut out or, conversely, unnecessary ones were left, then clematis will not bloom.
How to prune clematis? The shoots of plants that belong to the first group are removed from the supports before the onset of cold weather and cut at different heights: from 1 to 1-1,5 m. At the same time, all dry, broken and weak ones are completely cut out. The circumcised ones are tied together, laid on a spruce branch spread out on the ground. From above they are also covered with branches, covered with a thick layer of dry leaves (or peat, sawdust) and covered with roofing material, in which several holes are made for air circulation inside the shelter.
Clematis second group cut at a height of 1 m or higher, also removing all unsuitable shoots. They cover them for the winter in the same way as the plants of the first group. shoots on plants third group cut at a distance of 0,15 m from the surface of the earth and cover the bush with peat, sawdust, sand, leaves to a height of 0,3-0,5 m, cover with roofing material on top.
Conclusion
If clematis does not bloom, you need to find out why this is happening and eliminate the cause. Only in this case it is possible to grow a luxurious plant that will delight the gardener with its lush flowering every season, without interruption.
