Description of clematis variety Ville de Lyon, cultivation and care technology

Clematis are especially loved by flower growers for their decorative properties and bright colors of inflorescences. One of the popular representatives of the buttercups, which has successfully taken root in Russian gardens and summer cottages, is the clematis variety Ville de Lyon. The culture is distinguished by large flowers, long flowering, and resistance to fungal diseases.

Description and features

The vine of the “king” of clematis Ville de Lyon grows up to 4 m. Brown young shoots turn brown with age. The flowers are carmine red, and later purple, and consist of 5–7 petals with fluffy yellow stamens in the center. They reach a diameter of 16 cm. The heart-shaped green leaves are much smaller than the inflorescences.

The flowering of the crop begins in July and lasts until the onset of autumn cold weather. Hybrid Ville de Lyon is a shrub variety and produces up to 15 shoots.

From the characteristics of the plant, gardeners highlight frost resistance, which determines wintering at the planting site. The perennial bush is immune to fungal spores and is valued by flower lovers for its undemanding nature when it comes to watering and giving the area a unique look.

History of the origin of Ville de Lyon

In Europe, flower growers have been breeding clematis for five centuries. In Russia, the fashion for large-flowered crops came in the 50s of the last century.

A bright representative of clematis, the Ville de Lyon variety was obtained by the French breeder Morel more than 120 years ago, but still remains relevant and is found in European, Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian gardens.

Landing

Before planting, the plants choose a suitable place on the site, prepare the soil, and take care of the support along which the vine will climb. For normal vegetation and flowering of the crop, compliance with planting technology is required.

Location requirements

Clematis Ville de Lyon thrives in loose, fertile soils with a neutral acid-base balance. The plant loves morning and evening sunlight, but is intolerant to midday. In the sun, the petals fade and lose their brightness.

To grow clematis Ville de Lyon, select a place next to a support, protected from gusts of wind that can break the vine. In the southern regions, it is recommended to create partial shade for the crop on the ground and the lower part of the bush, planting low plants nearby.

Soil selection and preparation

For planting clematis, choose slightly alkaline or neutral loam. High acidity is neutralized with slaked lime in the proportion of 25–50 kg per hundred square meters, dolomite flour - 350–500 g per 1 sq. m. m.

Heavy soil with a predominance of peat and a groundwater source located above 1.5 meters from the surface is not suitable for the culture.

The optimal substrate for perennial bushes consists of four parts garden soil, compost and one part sand.

Planting scheme

Clematis Ville de Lyon is planted in April–May before the beginning of the growing season or in the fall after the growth of green mass ceases in late September and early October.

A month in advance, prepare a planting hole in the form of a cube 60 cm deep and 50 cm wide. The fertile layer is mixed with a bucket of compost or humus, add 2 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate, the same amount of superphosphate.

Clematis planting technology:

• an earthen mound is built at the bottom of the pit;
• the seedling is lowered, spreading the roots along the slopes of the hill;
• deepen the plant so that the growth bud of the lower internode is buried 8 cm;
• watered;
• sprinkle the roots with sand mixed with ash, add a fertilized prepared substrate on top;
• water again.

When planting several plants at the same time, maintain a distance between them of 80–100 cm. Step back 50 cm from the wall, make sure that water flowing from the roof does not fall on the crop.

If the soil on the site is heavy and the soil prepared for planting the crop is loose, you cannot add an additional drainage layer in the hole, since moisture from the entire garden will accumulate in this place.

Support

To avoid damaging the roots of clematis Ville de Lyon, the support is installed before planting. The device can be purchased ready-made or constructed independently.

Requirements for the support:

• height from two, width from one and a half meters;
• strength, reliability;
• sustainability;
• fit into the overall design;
• decorativeness.

If trellises for clematis are installed along the facade of the house, then in winter, when the plant is dormant, they should not spoil the appearance of the building. In addition to trellises, arcs are constructed from PVC pipes. Forged metal supports are durable.

One of the less labor-intensive options is to dig in two wooden posts, stretch and secure a galvanized chain-link mesh between them. They do it even simpler - they drive nails into the wall of the gazebo and stretch a strong twine along which the vines will weave.

Mulching

To retain heat and moisture, the crop is mulched after planting and in the spring after loosening and removing weeds. In the South, they protect the soil from overheating with a 5-centimeter layer of hay and sand, and in regions with a temperate climate and not warm enough summers, they use vermiculite and humus as mulch.

Rules of care

Caring for clematis Ville de Lyon includes fertilizing during the growing season, irrigation, pruning, protection from pests and diseases. In areas where frosts exceed the temperature mark of -20°C, the crop requires insulation.

Top dressing

Fertilizers applied during planting are enough for the crop for the first 3 years. Starting from the fourth year, I feed clematis four times during the season.

In the spring, at the beginning of the growing season, solutions of mullein or chicken droppings are used for rapid growth of shoots. After two weeks, use urea.

Before clematis blooms, complex fertilizers are added to the soil, including nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Nitrophoska is suitable for summer feeding of the crop.

To increase winter hardiness in the fall, 500 g of ash mixed with humus is poured under each clematis bush.

Watering

Irrigate clematis once a week. The need for moisture is determined by the level of dryness of the substrate at a depth of 20 cm. In order for the water to reach the roots, buried 60 cm, they retreat 30 cm from the bush from the base and dig a small groove into which moisture is delivered.

Another way to effectively irrigate a crop is to water empty flower pots buried in a circle flush with the surface through drainage holes.

Preparing for winter

The stems of clematis Ville de Lyon are cut off completely in the fall, so there is no need to build frames. If winters in the region are mild, it is enough to mulch the soil around the perennial stump with fallen leaves, hay, and humus.

If in winter the thermometer drops below -20°C, a wooden or plastic box turned upside down is placed over the root of the crop, and the top is insulated with burlap and spruce branches. To prevent the root from escaping, holes are made in the box for ventilation.

Trimming

Since clematis blooms on the current year’s vines, all shoots of the bush are removed in the fall. Leave the root part 15 cm high.

In the spring, pruning is carried out to stimulate flowering. The regrown stems of the crop are shortened, leaving 7 cm from the upper buds.

Clematis blooms fully in the third year. Therefore, for the first two years during the growing season, it is recommended to remove the formed buds for better development of the root system.

Diseases and pests

Despite the resistance of clematis to viruses and fungal spores, the plant is susceptible to fusarium, powdery mildew and wilt. Of the pests, the crop is most often attacked by slugs, aphids, and spider mites. Butterfly larvae and nematodes cause significant damage to the plant.

Fusarium

With Fusarium wilt, infection of the crop begins from the lower part of the vine. The resulting mycelium clogs the conductive channels of the clematis, metabolism is disrupted, and the leaves dry out along the entire shoot. First, the edges of the leaf blades turn brown, then the fungus takes over the entire leaf.

For the development of spores, a stable temperature above +20°C and high humidity are required, so signs of fusarium are visible in the second half of June or July.

To combat the disease, the damaged vine is cut out and removed, and the plant is treated with Previkur.

Powdery mildew

A white coating, similar to scattered flour, covers the leaves, flowers, and shoots of clematis. Plant organs rot and die. The crop stops growing and flowering.

To treat the Ville de Lyon hybrid, a solution is prepared. Place a crushed bar of laundry soap in a bucket of water and add 30 g of copper sulfate. After removing dead parts, the plant is sprayed with the prepared product.

Wilt

Phomopsis wilting of a crop begins with rotting of the root, blocking the channels in the stem for delivering nutrients to other organs. Small black dots appear on clematis leaves where spores are concentrated. The hidden fungus actively develops and multiplies on the plant during flowering, affecting flowers, vines, and foliage.

The disease is contagious and cannot be cured. Dead vines are cut out at the root, the remaining ones are treated with foundationazole. Before planting young bushes, the soil is treated with Trichodermin.

Nematode

Microscopic roundworms measuring 1 mm infect the entire clematis Ville de Lyon - the roots die, the leaves and flowers become smaller.

Effective pest control methods have not yet been developed, so the crop is removed and burned. Replacing the soil does not provide a 100% guarantee that young clematis will not suffer the same fate.

Butterflies and moths

The plant is afraid not of the butterflies themselves, but of their larvae, which eat green leaves, which subsequently curl. The damage caused by butterflies and bloodworms inhibits the normal development of clematis.

Treating the crop with insecticides before the budding period helps prevent the invasion of caterpillars.

Snails and slugs

Pests parasitize clematis throughout the growing season, eating leaves and buds, inhibiting the development of the plant. Snails and slugs are collected by hand, and traps and bait are set.

To make it more difficult for mollusks to climb the vine, weeds are regularly weeded. Metaldehyde, ash, lime, and superphosphate are scattered under the bush.

Aphids and spider mites

Due to the small size of aphids and spider mites, their presence on clematis Ville de Lyon is determined by the sticky layer and web on the leaves, respectively.

To repel insects, the bushes of the crop are sprayed with garlic or wormwood infusion, and pyrethrum, onions, and garlic are planted nearby. Of the ready-made preparations, the safe Fitoverm, or the fast-acting Actellik, Antiklesch, Akarin are effective.

Reproduction

Clematis is propagated sexually and vegetatively. Planting seeds does not guarantee that a crop will grow with the varietal properties inherent in the mother plant. More often, gardeners use the vegetative method, which is less labor-intensive and reliable.

Dividing the bush

Clematis with an overgrown root system is dug up on one side and a part of the root with two or three shoots is separated with a shovel. The young plant is completely removed from the ground before propagation.

The delenka is immediately planted in the prepared hole.

The method is considered the simplest and fastest, but it is not possible to get many new plants from an adult bush.

Layerings

Dig 5 cm grooves for the selected clematis shoots. The vines are laid along the recesses, secured with metal or wooden brackets, covered with fertile substrate, and watered.

During the season, young shoots of clematis Ville de Lyon grow with their roots, which are mulched in the fall. Transplantation to a permanent place is done in April-May next year.

The method of propagation by layering is long, but produces several plants at once.

Cuttings

Clematis is propagated by cuttings in June during the budding period. Cut out the middle part of the shoot of a young bush 2–3 years old. Cut segments slightly larger than one internode so that there is 2 cm on top and 3–4 cm below the internode.

The petiole is placed in Kornevin’s solution and planted in a separate glass. The rooting process lasts three months.

Seeds

The seeds ripen 90 days after flowering stops. In most Russian regions, climatic conditions prevent the formation of adequate planting material. In this case, the branch with fruits is placed in a vessel with water and placed on the windowsill until qualified seeds are formed.

After collection, clematis seeds are placed in the refrigerator for stratification for 3 months. Planted in open ground in spring or autumn. In the latter case, the planting site is mulched. Clematis Ville de Lyon blooms in the third year.

Application in landscape design

Traditionally, gardens and summer cottages are decorated with clematis climbing on pergolas and trellises. Large-flowered plants decorate the facades of houses, gazebos, and specially constructed arches. Clematis Ville de Lyon is used as a hedge, spreading the crop along a chain-link mesh and planting the plants at a distance of 80 cm from each other.

By selecting several varieties that bloom at different times, you can admire the varied colors of the inflorescences and the lush green foliage from spring to late autumn.

Clematis is used not only as a background plant, but also in flower arrangements made with it..

Roses, climbing from different sides on arches, pyramids, and planted as a hedge, look harmonious next to it.

The crop is combined with grapes, honeysuckle, lemongrass, and hydrangea. Clematis camouflage old withered tree trunks. The flowering plant looks advantageous against the background of conifers.

Flower growers more often recognize large-flowered clematis in their plots. Ville de Lyon is one of them, attracting with large, saucer-sized flowers that do not leave anyone indifferent.