Content
Rose, the queen of gardens and parks, will never refuse such a representative of her court. Clematis Niobe is a worthy courtier of Her Majesty: tall, slender and noble, dressed V bright purple clothes bordered with green velvet, not a single garden charmer can resist him.
Description
Clematis (clematis or vine) belongs to the Buttercup family - it is a perennial herbaceous plant, whose habitat is in countries with subtropical or temperate climates. Russia also became one of these countries after the Polish breeder Noll developed winter-hardy varieties of cultivated varieties of clematis that can survive in our difficult weather conditions. Clematis Niobe is one of these varieties.
Characteristic features of the Niobe variety:
- this is a perennial herbaceous plant with vine shoots growing up to 2-3 meters, with the help of strong tendrils growing on the stems, the plant is able to stay in a vertical plane by clinging to supports;
- leaf blades are trifoliate, rich green;
- the flower petals are painted in many shades of red: burgundy, crimson, lilac, in the center of the flower there are elongated stamens of predominantly bright yellow color, along the edges of the six petals there is a slight curl;
- flowers are large in diameter, the largest specimens reach 15 cm;
- flowering of clematis Niobe begins in the third year of planting and continues from early summer to late autumn;
- the plant prefers neutral or slightly acidic fertile soils, well fertilized, loose;
- the landing site should be illuminated by the sun most of the day;
- Clematis Niobe reproduces vegetatively, that is, by rooting some of the young shoots and cuttings;
- to strengthen the long and heavy vines of the climbing clematis Niobi, special supports are required, depending on the artistic composition conceived by the designers, they can be very diverse: high fences that need to be hidden, bare tree trunks, pergolas and peculiar arches.
Varieties of all clematis are divided into three groups according to the pruning method, Niobe belongs to the third of them:
- The first group - the formation of flower ovaries occurs only on last year's vines.
- The second group is flowering on the growth of the current year and partially on the branches of last year,
- Third group - flowers bloom only on vines grown this year.
We will tell you more about the methods of pruning clematis Niobe a little later.
Landing
Clematis are grown in gardens to decorate them, creating compositions according to the plans of landscape designers or the owners of the site themselves.Large plant sizes require adequate space, but if there is not very much of it, gardeners have to choose the planting site more carefully.
Choosing a place and time for landing
You need to choose a place to plant this plant, taking into account many of the nuances and characteristics of the plant:
- Clematis Niobe - this is a perennial plant in one place it can grow successfully for about 30 years;
- vine stems clematis grow quickly and reach heights larger than human growth in only one season;
- this plant photophilous, when shaded, flowering is short-lived and the size of the flowers is significantly reduced;
- the soil in the area where Niobe is supposed to be planted should be light and refined.
Young seedlings are planted in spring or autumn.
Selection of seedlings
The first rule when choosing clematis seedlings is to buy them only from nurseries that specialize in the production of ornamental climbing plants. Varieties and varieties of perennials should be selected taking into account the territorial capabilities of your garden. For a small area, clematis with lower stems are suitable. Also pay attention to the pruning group for varietal clematis.
In the video, a representative of the nursery where clematis planting material is prepared talks about the assortment available in their store (data from 2014):
Soil requirements
The soil structure for clematis Niobe should be loose and allow air and moisture to pass through well. Frequent watering compacts the soil, so it must be loosened and removed weeds, and in the spring it is good to mulch with compost, tree bark or sawdust.
How to plant
Clematis Niobe, like all types of these plants, requires deep planting in the soil. The holes for planting are made quite deep (30-40 cm), plant seedlings should fit freely in them to a height of 10-15 cm above the root system. In order for the plant to begin to grow, and, therefore, to begin to bloom at an earlier date, they are first planted in separate containers; see how to do this correctly in the attached video.
Care
Clematis care It takes a lot of time only during the planting period, when you need to install trellises, supports and pergolas, and in the fall when pruning vines and preparing them for the winter. The rest of the time, it’s the usual care, like for all plants in the garden: fertilizing, loosening the soil, removing weeds, preventing diseases and harmful insects. One main nuance - clematis Niobe loves moisture very much; it will have to be watered more often than other flower plantings.
Top dressing
The main part of fertilizers: a large amount of organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil in the spring. During the period of active growth and flowering, clematis is fed with complex additives containing the necessary elements: phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen.
Loosening and mulching
You need to loosen the soil under the bushes regularly; this ensures good aeration of the soil, which is important for any garden plant.
Watering
Water clematis often, as soon as the soil on the surface dries out a little, so that the water does not stagnate at the roots for too long, arrange drainage for the area.
Trimming
Clematis Niobe belongs to the third pruning group, It blooms only on the shoots of the current year.
In autumn, all shoots of the current season are cut off, leaving 2-3 pairs of the lowest buds (see diagram), since there is no need to save them until the next season.
The trimmed plant material is crushed and sent to the compost heap; this waste, rich in microelements, will also serve as a good fertilizer for spring plantings.
In the spring, the buds will begin their rapid growth and will bloom until next autumn, until the next annual pruning, which is done once, so there is much less hassle with clematis Niobe than with other varieties.
Shelter for the winter
Clematis Niobe is winter-hardy, can withstand sub-zero temperatures down to 30-40 degrees, but for insurance, you can use winter insulating cover in the form of a thick layer of sawdust (20-25 cm) and a layer of peat up to 10 cm.
Disease and pest control
It cannot be said that clematis are resistant to all diseases and pests; they, like all plants in the garden, can be affected by a sudden disease or invasion of harmful insects. The most effective remedy is preventive treatment in the spring with special-purpose chemicals: Fundazol, Aktelik, copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
Reproduction
Clematis can be propagated 5-6 years after planting. There are many methods and methods of propagation, the main ones are cuttings, dividing the bush and rooting layering. The clematis variety Niobe is propagated mainly by cuttings. In this case, cuttings up to 20 cm long with 3-4 healthy buds are cut from an adult bush in spring or early summer and planted in a separate place or in a container for rooting. In the fall, the cuttings are well covered for the winter, and in the spring they are planted in a permanent place.
Application in landscape design
For its beauty, a magnificent combination of green leaves and large bright red flowers, Clematis Niobe has become popular among garden landscape designers.Masters of their craft skillfully use its excellent qualities in creating multi-tiered compositions to decorate gardens and parks.
Reviews
Conclusion
Starting any business can be difficult, but over time, learning more and more about clematis, about the Niobe variety, you will gradually get used to the requirements of this picky plant, create all the favorable conditions for it and achieve annual abundant flowering from this sometimes rebellious beauty.
