Most cultivated clematis are hybrids , so they can only be propagated vegetatively by dividing bushes, cuttings, or layering. Grafting is also used for low-hardy varieties, but this method is more suitable for specialists. Reproduction of clematis by seeds is used only for small-flowered species that stably preserve species characteristics from generation to generation.
Propagation of clematis by layering
In amateur gardens, all forms are usually propagated vegetatively, this allows you to quickly get a flowering plant, takes less time and effort compared to growing from seeds. Below are recommendations on the main methods of vegetative propagation.
Division is possible for vines no older than six to seven years, in the future, due to the powerful root system and the inevitable damage to the roots, the divisions do not take root well. The bush is carefully dug out, trying not to cut off the long cord-like lateral roots, freed from the ground, and cut into pieces with a sharp pruner so that each has enough roots and at least one shoot with a bud. It is better to do this in the fall, in the spring the right time is a short interval between the thawing of the soil and the beginning of shoot growth. Spring divisions are two to three weeks behind in development from autumn ones.
When propagating clematis by layering, up to a dozen seedlings can be obtained from one plant. To do this, the bush is spudded with a loose substrate to the second leaf from the bottom, and after a year or two, layers with their own roots are formed in the lower internodes of most shoots, which are then carefully planted.
If you need a lot of seedlings, in autumn, fully matured shoots are laid in pre-prepared ditches 8-10 cm deep, leaving a top 20-25 cm long on the surface. They are pinned in the internodes and covered with a loose nutrient substrate. The next summer, the plantings are regularly watered, fed, and by the fall, vertical sprouts appear from the dug lashes, which are planted in a permanent place in the fall of the next year or in the spring a year later. Shoots can also be buried in spring, but in this case, by autumn, young bushes will not have time to fully form and may freeze out.
Reproduction of clematis cuttings in autumn
At the moment of budding, when the concentration of biologically active substances in the tissues is maximum, the central part of annual shoots with one or two internodes is cut out. Planting material for a day is placed in a solution of phytohormones, then planted obliquely in clean sand, peat or a mixture thereof and covered with a film. The cuttings are regularly watered, sprayed, and after a month and a half they start to grow. After that, young plants are planted, they are well covered for the winter or even cleaned in the basement.
Propagation of clematis by cuttings in autumn is more physiological and safe for the plant. In this case, lignified cuttings with one internode are cut from the shoots, they are also treated with phytohormones and planted in boxes with a loose substrate, deepening the lower end by 3 cm, the upper one by 1 cm. The boxes are placed in the basement, in winter the soil is kept moist. In March, when discolored sprouts appear, plantings are transferred to the greenhouse, gradually raising the temperature and watering regularly. With a length of 10 cm, the shoots are pinched, which contributes to better root formation. Rooting occurs after three months, seedlings are transferred to open ground in the spring of next year.