clematis seeds

:bigthumb:just bought some clematis seeds how do I sow them please? on top of comphost?
going to start them off on a window sill any tips

 

Normally I think Clematis needs stratification.
That is sowing in a pot and exposing to a few weeks at least of cold weather.

I've sown them on the surface with just a covering of sharp grit.

 

@thriftybri , never known anyone to grow Clematis from seed , let us know how you get on

 

Had to look it up, it was a long time ago.
The one I grew from seed was C. tangutica

 

Clematis growers do it. That’s how new varieties are developed. I’m pretty sure it is hit and miss though with many failures before they get a really good one.

 

Isn't that the wild one commonly called Old Man's Beard? The yellow one? I've probably got that wrong/mistaken

 

I've grown them from seed, they are not the quickest to germinate. As Pete said they need stratification. Old Man's Beard is Clematis vitalba. Clematis Tangutica is also known as the Orange Peel clematis and comes from China, tends to be relatively short lived with me..

 

Old Mans Beard is the wild one that grows in this country often in hedgerows on chalky or sandy soil. The flowers are insignificant looking and tiny but the seed heads are quite spectacular. Tangutica is yellow and I think a variant of clematis orientalis, flowers late and is very vigorous.

 

Thank you @Redwing I had the yellow Tangutica in one of my previous gardens. I recall one of my boys nursery teachers asking them to bring something in from the garden and he took a piece of that (it was Autumn time) and she called it Old Man's Beard. I suppose, not being particularly interested in plants at that time, and with her being a teacher, I just took her word for it Thank you for explaining the difference to me

 

What I do with my seeds is sow them in a 3'' tall pot put in 2'' of seed compost then sow the seed on top then cover with a inch of grit then place in a zip lock bag, another way is to place damp vermiculite in a zip lock bag then put the seeds in the bag.

I've used both methods, the one I have must success with is the pot method.

Clematis seeds can the very erratic at germinating.

Some varieties can take a couple of years to germinate.

 

Is it not easier to buy a one year old plant at Tesco,Asda, Morrisons et al for £2.99 ?

 

It is if you want named varieties/hybrids. There's not much point sowing clematis seed unless you want the species, because otherwise they won't come true. As @Redwing wrote, breeders raise new plants from seed but eventually throw away far more than they name and market.

 

I grow clematis from seed for a bit of fun.
Has @Redwing and @noisette47 says a lot of growers do throw a lot away, I have a friend the grows clematis and he's launching a new montana this year which was a chance seedling with a 8-9 cm diameter flower and scented.

He has raised a lot of new clematis from seed, when clematis Carol Klein was launched at last years Tatton show that was also a chance seedling.

The problem I find with those £2.99 clematis is its always the same ones year after year. And they do need growing on a bit. What I do if I buy any is repot them in to deep clematis pots in good quality compost and leave them till they grow a good root system grows.