Clematis Montana cuttings

Morning,
Not being an experienced gardener I was quite proud of myself for successfully establishing over twenty cuttings from my Montana around May time.
They were in individual pots in my unheated greenhouse most were over a foot high and growing up the small canes provided.
To my dismay they have all died...leaves brown and shriveled.The compost was still moist and they were kept out of direct sunlight. Luckily I had several on a windowsill indoors and these are still ok.

Has the cold killed them? and if so how does the plant reproduce in the wild if temperatures
kill any new plants? I never thought they would be at risk with being such a hardy plant outside.

Any thoughts?

 

Hang onto them, maybe they are going to produce new shoots from an invisible set of roots come March. Most clems look dead on top in winter, but the roots are extremely hardy. So don't throw them out just yet.

 

Leave them be , all my clematis cuttings are done in a unheated greenhouse, and left alone over winter, and a lot of my clematis are quite rare.

 

That had crossed my mind as leaves on the adult plant have died just like these...I take it that the indoors ones have remained green as they don't 'know' that it's winter.
I have de potted one of those that have died back and there is a decent root ball.I shall certainly hang on to these now and hope for green shoots in the spring.
PS...should I water these or not?

 

Water lightly but don't allow to stand in water. The outdoor ones will be getting winter water, after all!

 

Thank you for your comments...

 

Re the above from two weeks ago.I brought my 'dead' cuttings indoors and removed all the dead leaves.They certainly don't look very bright...but taking advice given I've kept them lightly watered.



Lo and behold after two weeks these tiny shoots have appeared...where there's life there's hope as they say...I hope they're right....fingers crossed.It just shows that it's worth giving plants a second chance.

 

Glad you haven't had "disasters"! many a time I have feared the worst only to be surprised that something appears to come back from the dead. A good tip to see if something really had legged up is to lightly scratch the stem of the plant. If it's green under the surface then all is well.

 

Could you let me know Ian if your cuttings die back in your unheated greenhouse? And should I overwinter indoors in future?

 

Most die back which is natural, I am just trying Clematis Armandii see if I can grow that one from a cutting.
I find that clematis growning is very addictive.
if your growing cutting outdoors they could get waterlogged, if you have a shed you could try them in there, its just growing indoors they will take longer to harden off.
My friend who grows them professionally as no heating in his greenhouses.
Not sure if I can name his nursery on here.

 

If his products are rubbish and you know it then it's not a good way to make friends. But if (as I'm sure the case is) his product is good at a sensible price we all want to know!! It's hard enough for the little guys as it is so I shamelessly plug independent nurseries and suppliers if I am happy with them.

It's frustrating when someone signs up to a forum just to make a post plugging themselves, but a forum member who speaks from experience as to the quality of those that they've dealt with is a useful contribution.

 

Will send him a email if its ok to advertise his nursery

 

My friends nursery.
Hawthorn Nursery Clematis Specialists
Marsh Road
Heskdth Bank
Nr Preston
Lancashire
PR4 6XT
Web site
Hawthorn Nursery.co.uk
I've been buying clematis and other plants from here for about 20 years, very friendly and always helpful.

 

I see that he has Alstromeria psittacina. Ask about it next time that you're there - it's one that I really recommend.