How to Grow Blue Clematis

Clematis is a type of woody, climbing vine, commonly grown for its beautiful and showy flowers, which typically bear four petal-like leaves, called sepals, in colors ranging from white, to red, to deep blue and purple. The flowers of blue clematis are particularly striking. The easiest way to grow a blue clematis is to propagate a cutting from a mature plant with blue flowers. Clematis are also grown from seeds, however, because the seeds receive pollen from different sources, the plants that result may not produce blue flowers. Propagated cuttings will more likely bear flowers similar to the parent plant.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Mature blue clematis plant
• Seed tray
• Sand
• Peat moss
• Large, clear plastic bag
• Rubber band
• 1-gallon plastic plant pots
• Potting soil

1. Remove several stems with leaves between 3 and 5 inches long from the clematis, preferably in early summer, using a sharp knife.

2. Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cuttings. Dust the cut ends with rooting hormone compound. Fill the cells of a seed tray full with a good rooting soil mixture of equal parts sand and peat moss. Insert the cut end of the stem into the soil mixture in each cell of the seed tray. Water the cuttings so that the soil is damp, not wet.

3. Place the cuttings in the seed tray in a clear plastic bag. Poke holes in the bag with a pencil to allow for ventilation. Close the top of the bag with a rubber band.

4. Place the bag with the blue clematis cuttings in a warm location with plenty of diffused light. Spray the cuttings daily with a light mist of water to keep the cuttings fresh and the soil moist.

5. Remove the cuttings from the plastic bag when new leaves begin to form, usually in four to five weeks, according to the Iowa state University Extension. Transplant the clematis cuttings into 1-gallon plastic plant pots filled with potting soil. Plant your blue clematis plants in the spring.