British Expat Forum

I bought a couple of plants last year, and while they grew well, there were no flowers. This year they've done well, and last week I was so excited to see buds on one; they are now open. But here's the thing...it is a type called Belle of Woking, and it is suppose to have a lilac-coloured flower...but the blooms are all white! What happened? They are on the west side of a shed which just happens to be white and I am so disappointed that they are not more colourful. Should I move it in the fall? Move it now? Leave it where it is, and hope the clematis fairy makes it lilac-coloured next year?

Perhaps the soil type affects the colour,like a hydrangea?

I wondered that...maybe I'll pour some tea on it a few times and see if that helps.

So what colour will they be then? Lilac or brown!
Will that change the ph of the soil?

I wish the answer were as exciting as hydrangea syndrome - where the Ph of the soil affects flower colour.

This is definately not the case with clematis. This can only be dodgy label syndrome.

It happens more often than consumers realise, and it's not usually the fault of the retailer. Growers produce hundreds of plants, and some uncaring gopher puts the wrong label on one or two. Who's going to notice?

Maybe you have a rarity they were trying to keep under wraps

Mike

I have been wondering lately if it is a sport. Not only the flowers themselves, but some of the leaves near the flowers have 'broken'...you know how tulips break and have white streaks through them? That's what the leaves are like. It doesn't lool like the plant is unhealthy, in fact it is very healthy.

Now it's getting interesting, jaj.

If you're suddenly finding variegated leaves, it could be a virus, or it could be the result of herbicide contact. But it could also be a "sport".

What you need to do now is try to propagate from the variegated part of the plant. Unfortunately, clematis are tricky.

You can try soft cuttings (tip growth with two or three nodes - leaf joints - but you'll need hormone rooting powder). The chances of success are slim.

Clematis are best propagated by layering, ie pinning a new growth to the ground, and let nature take it's course. That's how the parent species spreads naturally.

Good luck, and remember protocol forbids you from naming a new plant after yourself

Mike

Hmmm...well, I believe I can eliminate the herbicides since I don't use them. The fertilzer I use is an organic one. I'll try propagating a few bits....I've got the rooting hormone around somewhere, I think. The other clematis which is near the "white" one is called John Paul 11 (I guess they won't be growing those anymore, or they'll be changing the name), but it has no flowers yet.