Clematis Dorothy Tolver

At Wildwood, we aim to make sure every plant arrives healthy and safe to your door in time for your planting period. The shipment of your order will follow our approximate schedule found below where timing will be dependent on what is being shipped, your planting zone, and the current weather conditions for shipping.

Zone	Earliest Shipping Time
1-3	Mid May
4-5	Late April
6	Early to Mid April
7-9	Late March

All times listed are the earliest dates shipping can start in that zone. Shipping times can change due to harsh weather conditions or supplier delays if they occur.

Not sure what planting zone you are? Check the map here or visit Natural Resources Canada to find the hardiness zone in your Municipality.

When to Plant

Clematis can be planted as soon as the ground is workable. Like bulbs, clematis will react to the seasons with root growth in the summer and fall and top growth in the spring.

How to Plant

Plant in an area with sufficient light and a well drained soil mix. We recommend digging a 18" by 18" (45cm x 45cm x  45cm) hole and covering the bottom with a mix of rich compost and bone meal. Cover the compost mix with top soil before planting in the hole. Your watered clematis should be planted so that there is 6" (15cm) of stem below the final soil level. The stem should be ripe before burying it so if there is any uncertainty of this, leave the final fill until later in the season. 

Planting in Containers

Most varieties will do well in containers but plant growth and size will depend on the size of the container used and frequency of watering. It is important to include some sort of trellis, sweet pea netting, or cedar stakes to be used as a support system. When planting Clematis in containers, make sure to use something with several drainage holes in the bottom.

Clematis have three main pruning groups that we have simplified as A, B, and C. These groups are based on where the Clematis grows its new flowers. Follow our quick guide below to see when and where you should be pruning your established Clematis vines after their flowering season.

Group	A	B	C
Flower Time	Spring	Early Summer and Repeat Blooms	Late Summer
Flowers on	Old wood	Old & new wood	New wood
When to Prune	After flowering (Summer)	After flowering (Fall / Winter)	After flowering (Winter / Spring)
Where to Prune	Cut out weak or dead stems.	Light pruning with variation in length in late Feb. or March. Remove weak or dead wood.	Cut back to two strong sets of buds as close to soil level as possible.