“There are always ‘show offs’ in a garden that can’t contain themselves. Their exuberance can take your breath away and cause you to rush off to buy more.” SFH

 I consider Clematis to be ‘show offs’ in any garden. The selection of available colors allow you to introduce some ‘crown jewels’ into your color palate. (see #atozchallenge for my letter J blog post.)

Here are a few tips that will help you grow these beautiful vines.

Clematis roots need to be kept cool. Plant a large-leaved plant over the clematis roots which will shade the roots and keep your plant happy. Any ground cover will serve the same purpose. The caution here is to plant a shallow rooted companion that won’t compete for its three meals a day with the deeply rooted clematis. A hosta would be a good choice.

To encourage these flowering vines, sprinkle superphosphate onto the surface of the soil when you plant. For mature plants, add superphosphate once in the spring and again in June. Be sure to mark this tip on your ‘to do’ calendar and look forward to one of the great ‘show off’ plants in the garden. Visit my Pinterest board for more ‘show off’ photos.