Clematis – Madame Maria® – Clematis sp.
Dead-Heading Not Necessary
Fun Facts Though people think of her as French, Marie Curie was born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw, Poland. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person to win the award twice (and the first person to win the award for two different disciplines). Polish clematis breeder Szczepan Marczynski selected this variety to honor her nationality and achievements.
Long Blooming
Vine
Maintenance Notes
Clematis does best when the vines get sunshine while the roots stay cool and shaded. You can accomplish this with mulch, or by planting just below another plant (ideally, an evergreen shrub for winter protection as well). This variety blooms on old wood and on new wood, so it should be pruned back to about 3' (.9 m) tall each early spring.
Needs Good Drainage
Maintenance Category Easy
Water Category Average
Blooms On New Wood, Old Wood
Bloom Time
Flower Form Border Plant, Container, Good for Screening, Landscape, Specimen or Focal Point
Soil Fertility Average Soil
pH B - pH 5.8 - 6.2
EC (2:1 Extraction Method) 0.6 - 0.9
Fertilization 100 - 150
Light Requirements High
Water Requirements Moderate to Moist
Rooting Out Temperature 62 - 66° Fahrenheit
Growing On Temperature 58 - 62° Fahrenheit
Holding Temperature 40 - 50° Fahrenheit
Planting and Timing Information
2 1/4" finishes to 1 gallon in 10-12 weeks, Quick Turn finishes to 2-3 gallon in 14-18 weeks.
Grower Tips
Grow plants cool early in the season to prevent top growth from outpacing root development, which complicates maintenance later. Lower fertility also helps with this issue.
Should be grown in larger, rather than smaller, pots, with a bamboo trellis or similar structure placed in the soil. Use a light, fast-draining growing media. Pinch/prune 2-3 times to encourage branching and minimize plants growing into each other.
Plants benefit from manual training of vines onto support structure, which results is less maintenance and a more appealing plant at retail.
Once flower buds have set, grow plants drier to prevent clematis wilt. Spray with thiophanate-methyl fungicide as a preventative.
Top-dress with rice hulls or something similar to minimize weeds, algae, liverwort, etc., since leaf coverage of soil is minimal.
Should be last plants to be moved outdoors.
Potting a 2 ¼” liner directly to a 3 gallon can is not recommended.
Additional notes on Happy Jack® Purple and 'Diamond Ball': One of the easiest varieties to ship in bud and bloom.
Additional notes on 'Sweet Summer Love': Late bloom makes shipping flowering plants tricky. Being pot-bound seems to encourage blooming on this variety.
