{"id":35,"date":"2006-09-18T08:02:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-18T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=35"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:33:26","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:33:26","slug":"sweet-autumn-clematis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/sweet-autumn-clematis\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Autumn Clematis"},"content":{"rendered":"

SWEET AUTUMN CLEMATIS
\n<\/font><\/font><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What plant has had more names than a check forger, sometimes runs completely out of control and still makes regular appearances in respectable gardens everywhere?\u00a0 Sweet autumn clematis is the plant, and if America’s Most Wanted<\/em> had a plant list, this fall bloomer would surely be on it.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sweet autumn clematis is known more properly right now as Clematis terniflora, or sometimes C. ternifolia.\u00a0 In the recent past it has also been known as C. paniculata, C. dioscoreifolia and C. maximowicziana.\u00a0 If you have attempted to pronounce the latter, which is derived from the name of Karl Ivanovich Maximovicz, a nineteenth century Russian botanist, you can understand why even plant taxonomists may have felt the need for a name change.\u00a0 The current name, “terniflora,”\u009d is the one used by the Royal Horticultural Society and means “three-flowered”\u009d, which doesn’t make much sense, as the flowers have four petals apiece and do not cluster in groups of three.\u00a0 The less preferable and possibly mistaken “ternifolia”\u009d seems to make more sense, as it means “three-leaved,”\u009d and refers to the number of leaves usually found in the individual leaf clusters on the plant’s twining stems.\u00a0 “Paniculata”\u009d indicates that the flowers are clustered, with each one on its own separate stem.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No matter what you call it, the plant is a treat.\u00a0 The leaves are medium green and shaped like elongated hearts.\u00a0 In mild climates the foliage may be evergreen.\u00a0 Clematis terniflora comes into its glory in the early fall, when it covers itself with hundreds, if not thousands, of star-shaped flowers.\u00a0 While each one is only about an inch wide, a mature plant in full bloom becomes a sweet-smelling white canopy that canopy can climb thirty feet, or form a large clump on the ground.\u00a0 The White Flower Farm website shows a picture of sweet autumn clematis growing in an enormous concrete urn, mounding over the top and cascading down the sides.\u00a0 If for some reason you don’t need a thirty-foot tall vine, you can rein it in at least a bit by hard spring pruning.\u00a0 It’s also great for covering everything from rusting equipment to old outhouses.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Unlike other vines that need to be tied to supports, sweet autumn clematis has twining stems that fasten themselves readily onto trellises, trees or anything else in their path.\u00a0 Its opportunistic climbing habit is more than matched by its opportunistic reproductive habits, and it seems to pop up everywhere.\u00a0 Three separate plants have sprouted unbidden in my yard, and I’m sure that if I mowed the grass less often, there would be even more.\u00a0 As far as I know, nobody in the neighborhood has one, so the seeds either blew in on a mighty wind or were “planted’ by passing birds.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the past I have had sweet autumn clematis scrambling through my privet hedge.\u00a0 Now one has elected to scale one of our holly trees, and I don’t feel inclined to stop it.\u00a0 The white blossoms contrast nicely with the dark green holly leaves, and the sweet fragrance is a pleasant addition to that particular part of the garden.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The plant is native to Japan, which accounts for one of its common names, “Japanese virgin’s bower”\u009d.\u00a0 According to horticultural historian Denise Wyles Adams, the species was introduced in the United States in 1864.\u00a0 It has succeeded well here–too well in some areas.\u00a0 According to some sources, it can be invasive in the south.\u00a0 Having seen it growing on railroad right of ways and other untenanted spaces in the Middle Atlantic States, I can understand how it could be a beautiful pest elsewhere as well.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sweet autumn clematis also found its way to New Zealand, and, as Clematis paniculata, become so popular in that island country that it is also known as “New Zealand clematis.”\u009d\u00a0 Its elevated status was commemorated in 1967, when the government issued a new one dollar note with the signature white blooms on the reverse.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After the clematis blooms have faded, they are replaced by feathery silver seed heads that last into the late fall, and add ethereal beauty to the landscape.\u00a0 I leave mine on the vines, mostly because there are too many to clip off, and then prune the whole thing back in the spring.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ideally sweet autumn clematis should have decent, well-drained soil, and at least some sunshine.\u00a0 However, if your garden environment is less than optimal, try it anyway.\u00a0 It will probably grow nicely on a diet of partial sunshine and total neglect.\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you wait long enough, a sweet autumn clematis will undoubtedly sprout in your yard.\u00a0 However, if you are impatient, contact White Flower Farm, P.O. Box 50, Route 63, Litchfield, Connecticut 06759, Phone 1-800-503-9624.\u00a0 Free catalog. <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SWEET AUTUMN CLEMATIS \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What plant has had more names than a check forger, sometimes runs completely out of control and still makes regular appearances in respectable gardens everywhere?\u00a0 Sweet autumn clematis is the plant, and if America’s Most Wanted had a plant list, this fall bloomer would surely be on it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sweet autumn … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}