Clematis alpina 'Helsingborg'

love this one barbara, so pretty ;o)

Yes, my favourite C. alpina! Thanks, Sandra. :-)

ive just posted my alpina cyanea which is fully open now barbara, but like this one alot ;o)

I don't know that one - I'll go and take a look! Yes, this is a riich purple - I love it. :-)

mine a rich purple to barbara.

I'm off to look! NOW!!!! lol.

hahahah

;-)

I LOVE this Clematis, Spritz,going straight on to wish list And my Favs! lol :~))

Thanks, and when you get one, you won't regret it! En masse, the flowers are just beautiful. :-))

I haven't got many Alpinas, as almost all of mine are summer Clems, but think Malvern might be the perfect place to pick some up! :~))

Yep, love this one!

Flori...I love the alpinas but you do have to look at the 'thatch' all winter because they flower on old wood, like the montanas. I'm not so fond of this so I only have three alpinas. I prefer the group 3s that you can cut right down to the ground after they are finished and just wait for them to do their thing again next year.

I always have so many good intentions of pruning back my Clematis after they finish flowering,but needless to say, I aways get side-tracked, and the next thing I know, they are all over the place and a battle of wills is ahead of me, K/S! Maybe, just maybe,this year, I will get it done!! :~((

NO, NO, Flori!!!! I beg you - please go and read my blog on how and when to prune your Clematis! I think if you press 'C' at the bottom and then go to Clematis you should find it. Let me know if you have any probs and I'll tell you how to get there via my page.

She's right!! Pruning alpinas, even if you do it immediately after flowering as the books suggest, is never successful in my experience!

Well,I guess that was a red light and a half! Thanks, Spritz~will check it out,as could do with the advice....thanks K/S, you both are absolute angels, and if my many Clems could reach this keyboard, they would be breathing a huge sigh of relief that you have saved them from the mighty chop! LOL :~))

ha ha ha! no angel me....dirty fingernails for a start!! lol ;)

SIGH of relief....Ahhhhhh......:-)))))

Talk tomorrow, Flori...going to bed. Night night. xx

As long as you have a good heart K/S, you can still be an angel~grubby fingernails or not lol! :~))

Me too, night night....i have to get off this computer, eyes are getting sore xx

P.S.My nails are a disgrace! :-((((((

;))))) lol goodnight b!!...not to be outdone, even on the disgraceful nails!!! ha ha...love it!! xx

Lordy, Lordy!!! there's ANOTHER one!! at this rate I'll have nothing but clems! such a pretty colour... I'm looking for a nice clear blue... have maroon, white with mauve blush, yellow tangutica, pure white (I think it's an alpina) from our friend in NC,...so I would like a nice blue to round out the spectrum! (I know, I'm just a piker compared to yourself and Karen.. lol....)

Blue? Look at my alpina 'Frances Rivis'. She's a clear blue. I think you'll like her. :-)))

Is Frankie also a nice clear blue?

thanks.... will take a look. : - )

Yes, she is...I wonder if Lori liked her??

ok...so Frances Rivis goes on the ever growing list! I brought my clems in ...those I still had in pots... last night we had 4 degrees of frost and they're calling for snow flurries today! I'm afraid to go out and look at the others... That @##*()*&&! volcano!! our weather has turned seriously cold since it started spewing...

Is that the reason?? You poor things! Our weather is much cooler than it should be at this time of year, and everything in the garden is several weeks behind, but I shan't grumble, hearing about you over there, Lori!

Yeah Lori, we feel quite smug now we've heard about your frost and your snow! ...did you see my pic of the hail today?

Brrrrrr......we had sun this morning! Then it clouded over, but it was warmer than the w/end.

I"m becoming a bore always complaining...and then popping up with "oh it wasn't so bad after all..." But when I went out onto the deck at 5:30 a.m. the water in the birdbath was frozen SOLID .... our temperatures are forecast to rise over the next few days... just hope it stabilizes ..I hate the carousel effect...up one day ..down the next! I was really concerned for the Warsaw Nike... it is up 24 inches... twining nicely around the obelisk......it looks like tonights temps will be close to zero C...we're not out of the woods yet... but the Nike looks ok...and tonight I'm giving her a paperbag hat!

Good luck with the hat Lori!! Hope it gets better soon. Beautiful day here today.....so far!! :))

Not here it isn't! Cloudy, chilly, and I'm putting off the pruning. Poor Lori - you're NOT a bore! Freezing temps in May are no joke. :-((((

No definitely not a bore Lori! It makes me thankful for the hail to hear about your freezing temps!!

You can keep your hail, thanks! :-(((((( This is MAY....

lol!

...isn't it??

We are keeping it B,it's just started hailing again here as I type!! so fed up I went on Amazon and bought that lovely book on gardening with geraniums by the lady with the Wagnerian name!

Great! You'll love it. :-))) Save buying the other one until it hails again - as a consolation prize. You'll love that, as well...promise....:-)))

Sorry about the hail, though...I still haven't braved the chill...I really must!

Grump grump!! yes, I thought I'd get one and then I can get the other one later!

It brightened up a bit outside - so I've planted out a tray of Godetia and opened a parcel from Toto - all potted up safe and sound.

I copped out of starting the pruning, though. :-(((

I am quite impressed that the clemmies are all still looking very hardy...I keep promising them spring...but they're starting to doubt me. I have serious chores outdoors today...have to powerwash the deck...and when it dries (come on sun) I have to put water seal on it! so clems get short shrift today..but at least the sun is shining! When you say "start the pruning" Barbara, I get the feeling that that means at least a couple of days work?!

No - probably one more day at this time of year - all the spring flowering shrubs needed pruning, and I've already done the easy ones: the Forsythia, the Prunus mume and one of the shrubby Honeysuckles. It's the larger one that's such a challenge! I simply can't reach the top of it, even on the top step of the stepladder. I think I may have to call for reinforcements....

Just be extra careful on the ladder!

I was - and there's still a lot that needs to be pruned out. OH says he'll do it - but when????

Quickly!! take him up on it!!! then just bring him the ladder and pruners and find a seat nearby so you can point out any he misses.... (your hubby's a good sport, isn't he?)

He moans and groans...but today he 'did' tie in the rambling rose that had rambled off its arch! Some of it got pruned off....:-((

It was a nasty damp and chilly day, too, so he gave up after that. Did I? Nope - I carried on with the gardening!

It sounds like you've not had any perfect pruning days... there's never enough time between rain, sleet and snow for the garden to dry .... sad, isn't it? I was out putting compost on the beds and planting more mini roses...(Kordanas) and trying to keep the feverfew at bey.... Do you think it would be alright to plant the three clematis (now in individual pots) in a large terracotta planter? I know their roots need to establish and go deep...just wondering if it would be ok. temporarily...or if I should gamble on planting them only to have to dig them up again in June or July.?...

They don't appreciate their rots being disturbed, Lori. I've just lost one (accidentally!) by planting a Sophora close to 'Miss Bateman' and disturbing her roots system. She's flopped and is on her way out. :-((((((

Do you have to dig them up again? They're obviously better in the ground, but if it's not going to be a permanent position, why not pot them on one size instead?

I had read that they were really picky about their roots...need coolness...need to go deep into the soil.... roots need to be planted deeper than some other vines...all in all it looks like this house sale is going to be a problem for my clems... oh bother! The more I think about it ...the more I see your solution as the best alternative... thanks Spritz...will get going on that... Maybe I can dream up a deep moveable planter with a trellis attached...just move it along with the fridge and stove!!! lol....

Good thinking! LOL.