Clematis
By Patpither
United Kingdom 
I have a clematis which was planted two years ago and although it is growing very well there are no flowers, what could cause this problems. I have fed it with Tomorite throughout the year.
I did prune it last Autumn. It is in the ground and not in a pot, unfortunately I cannot remember the type it is.
8 Sep, 2011
Answers
Bamboo, I have seen Tomorite advocated as a Clematis feed, what would you recommend as an alternative ?
Sorry for hijacking this post.
8 Sep, 2011
The point about Tomato food is this - it has a very high potash level to encourage lots of flowers - with a correspondingly much lower level of nitrogen, and its been specifically designed for tomatoes. Using it half strength on things like summer bedding during the summer is okay, but for long term, permanent plants, the best feed is always a balanced all round one, such as Vitax Q for preferance, Growmore if that's all you've got, although Growmore doesn't contain trace elements like the Q4. That way, the plant gets the right nutrients for root, stem, leaf and flower growth. Although to be honest, clematis planted in the ground need very little - a top dressing raked in around the base with Q4 in April and if you really want to, again in early June is all they need.
Think about it this way - if someone has got really thin, then they get fattened up a with a high protein, high fat diet - but continue that diet and they'd end up out of whack, overweight and nutritionally compromised. Balance is all...
8 Sep, 2011
Many thanks for your detailed reply Bamboo.
I have ordered some Clematis to be grown in large containers, does the same advice apply ?
8 Sep, 2011
No - in containers, they need more frequent feeding because they can't seek out what they need for themselves. Something like Miracle Gro general purpose applied as a dilute liquid is probably the most convenient - use once a month from April through till end of June. If you have to water frequently because the weather's hot and dry, fortnightly feeding, and even weekly won't cause a problem.
8 Sep, 2011
Once again many thanks for the advice.
8 Sep, 2011
And apologies to Patpither for sidetracking her question...
8 Sep, 2011
Tomorite as a feed for tomatoes is brilliant - as a feed for clematis, its not good.
Is your clematis in a pot or in the ground? Do you know which variety of clematis it is, and have you ever pruned it? If so, when? Some clematis need no pruning, others should be cut to the ground in winter - cut at the wrong time and you lose the flowers, which is why I'm asking what variety yours is.
8 Sep, 2011