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Plant This Flowering Vine With Your Forsythia For
A Wall Full
Of Color
By PEG ALOI
After your forsythia shrub blooms bright yellow flowers in spring, it isn’t all that exciting. One way to liven it up is to plant flowering vines such as clematis beneath it.
Clematis vines are categorized based on how and when they are pruned. They bloom on "old wood" or "new wood" (referring to where new buds appear), which affects
pruning techniques.
When you choose your clematis, learn its pruning needs. For a vigorous bloomer in partial sun conditions, the top choice is Clematis montana, as the flowers resemble pink anemones.
Clematis montana is very floriferous and takes a year or two to get established, but once it does, you can expect gorgeous flowers from late spring through midsummer.
The most common cultivars are Mayleen and Pink Perfection, which grow 20 to 40 feet tall, spreading throughout a large forsythia and covering its branches with pink flowers.
Prune the vines at the end of the season for maintenance. Remember clematis is a climbing vine that needs some kind of support, such as a wall, a trellis, a fence, or a shrub.
Due to how large forsythia shrubs can become, plant the clematis vine 18 to 24 inches from its base to prevent the forsythia's root system from interfering with the vine.
Be sure to prune your forsythia separately from the clematis vine so you can focus on each plant's specific pruning needs. Make sure the vines receive enough sunlight, too.