Best mailbox plant ever!!

Discussion in 'Flower Gardening' started by Ronni, May 15, 2019.

  1. Ronni

    Ronni Hardy Maple

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    I bought this at my local Kroger last season for $9.99. It didn’t do a lot, couple blooms, didn’t get very tall. I hoped it would come back.

    Look at it now!!! Wow! Those flowers are so vibrant!

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  3. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Pretty sure it is a Clematis X jackmanii (Jackman's Clematis) but there are so many dark purple Clematis it might be a different one....but it is a Clematis, deciduous and will return every Spring getting a bit larger each time.
     
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  4. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    Careful!! Clematis like to read mail, :scheming::whistling:then they gossip with other flowers.:)

    Jerry
     
  5. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    It is gorgeous Ronni! I agree with Toni, it might be a Jackmanii. If so, they are among the hardiest of clematis. Very reliable & beautiful to boot. BTW, it just occurred to me, you might know what kind of clem it is. Do you?
     
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  6. Ronni

    Ronni Hardy Maple

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    No, I don't. I mean, I knew it was a clematis, But when I bought it at the Kroger (total impulse buy, I wasn't looking for plants, and if I had been I wouldn't have shopped at Kroger for them!) the only signage on it was that it was a Clematis. No idea of color, or type. But I knew that clematis climbed and that's what I wanted, and I was tired of planting a new mailbox plant every spring.

    It certainly exceeded my expectations!!! Is there anything I need to be doing with or to it? Stake it maybe? At this rate it's going to get so tall it will tip over, though it looks like it's already sort of bent over and come back on itself.
     
  7. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Ronni I just googled jackmanii's. If that is what it is, it'll grow to be 12 feet tall. How tall is you mailbox? I wager not 12 feet! Hmmm...a bit of a problem, huh? Maybe add a hanging plant hook? But that gets you back to having to put something in the pot every year that hangs from the hook!

    Maybe you could just let it be & see what happens. That's what I tend to do.

    BTW, clems like cool feet (ie, their roots shaded). I suggest you put some compost around the roots, then some bark mulch. Especially since it is close to a cement sidewalk.
     
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  8. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    I have a Ville de Lyon that will grow 10' if it had the support. Because it does not, the vines grow back on themselves making the foliage look thicker.

    Somewhere I have a picture of it looking in the mail box....somewhere among 50,000 pictures:(

    Jerry
     
  9. Dirtmechanic

    Dirtmechanic Young Pine

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    IMG_20190516_181802.jpg We have a very similiar clematis on our mailbox. I learned they like a more neutral pH so we have to use a little lime in addition to the compost.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2019
  10. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Nice photo DM. Puts our mailbox to shame!
     
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  11. Dirtmechanic

    Dirtmechanic Young Pine

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    We pay the flower fairies extra this time of year.
     
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  12. Jerry Sullivan

    Jerry Sullivan Garden Experimenter Plants Contributor

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    Wow, great mail box.

    49,999 pictures later I found the sneaky Clematis had opened the door but lucky for us the mail had not arrived.

    [​IMG]
    What?!! No mail!! ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden )

    Jerry
     
  13. Dirtmechanic

    Dirtmechanic Young Pine

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    You should inform us how to organize the deluge of digital pop!

    Or poop! As it may present itself!
     
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  14. Ronni

    Ronni Hardy Maple

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    OMG!!! I bet the mailman just LOVES you lol!!!
     
  15. Jewell

    Jewell Incorrigible Gardener Plants Contributor

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    If it is the jackamani it should bloom a few times throughout the summer. Beware though, they like to eat up the space they are given and take over more. All with pretty blooms throughout the summer. Enjoy
     
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