Their lavish flowers and impressive vigor inspire creative hobby gardeners to find ever new uses for clematis. Find out here how the clematis transforms the evergreen hedge into a sea of flowers or, in combination with ivy, how it becomes a hedge itself.
How do you design a clematis hedge?
To create a clematis hedge, you can combine clematis with conifers or plant clematis and ivy along a trellis fence with different flowering times. Root barriers prevent root competition between plants.
Planting clematis on a conifer hedge - this is how it works
They are very popular as an evergreen privacy screen. Conifers such as thuja, juniper or cypresses appear a little monotonous in their garden appearance in the long run. Creative gardeners quickly plant clematis, which climb up the trees and decorate with their splendor of flowers. Since both plant species place similar demands on the location, the plan succeeds in these steps:
- Between August and October, create planting pits along the hedge at a distance of 60-80 cm
- Create a drainage made of chippings or pottery shards at the bottom of each pit
- Plant the clematis 7-10 cm deeper than in the container and water generously
Summer-flowering clematis of cutting group 3 harmonize particularly well with a conifer hedge, as they can be adapted to the pruning of thuja and colleagues.
Evergreen hedge with clematis and ivy as a privacy screen
An opaque wooden fence has an oppressive effect on the entire property. In contrast, an enclosure as an evergreen hedge acts like a natural refuge. If the clematis is added, the hedge will bloom over many weeks and months. To make the plan a success, plant ivy and clematis with different flowering times along a lattice fence. The following combination may serve as inspiration for designing a 4 meter long hedge:
- 24 Ivy (Hedera helix 'Arborescens')
- 3 Honeysuckle (Lonicera henryi) with yellow-red flowers from June to July
- 2 Clematis montana 'Pink perfection (flowering period April to May/June)
- 2 Clematis 'Fuyu-no-tabi' (white flowers in May/June and August/September)
- 2 Italian clematis Clematis viticella (flowering period from July to September)
- 2 Clematis orientalis (yellow flowers from July to November)
Evergreen Clematis species are missing here as they are not hardy in the local regions.
Tips & Tricks
To avoid root competition, experienced gardeners always plant the clematis in combination with other plants with a root barrier (€36.00 at Amazon). For this purpose, each planting pit is lined with a geotextile specially made for this purpose. Alternatively, plant each individual clematis in a sturdy bottomless bucket.
