clematis propagation?

[U41...@uicvm.uic.edu]

Hi!

i have tried to root clematis vines with no success. a friend helped

me find this group on my computer. she said maybe someone could answer

my question, which is: can i propagate clematis vines? how difficult

is it? Is that why they are so expensive to buy?

as i'm new to this newsgroup, could someone please, please answer me via

hry...@uic.edu

thanx much

peggy

[Karen Gray]

Clematis can be propagated by the "layering" method. This is best
undertaken during the growing season (not in late Autumn). Bury a section
of a healthy vine several inches into the soil and weigh it down with a
rock or clip it with a large u-shaped coathanger wire. Leave it all
season. Could take up to a year to root ­ you may then separate from the
mother plant and plant elsewhere. If you scrape the vine with a knife (but
don't cut it) before burying you may hasten the rooting process, but I
don't bother with that. I've had good success with this method. Some
varieties (non-hybridized species) can be propagated from seed but this is
trickier and takes longer to get a flowering plant. Hybridized varieties
(practically any named variety) can not be propagated true-to-type by
seed. Clematis seed requires cold, moist stratification and does not live
particularly long in dry storage (in my experience).

Good Luck!

Karen