Do Clematis Have the Ability to Reproduce?

Clematis Flowers

• Clematis flowers are considered incomplete flowers. Each plant has both male and female reproductive organs, but they are located on different flowers. While this kind of plant still requires a pollinator, it can be self-fertile when no other plants of the species is nearby. When the pollen of the male flowers reaches the ovary of the female plants, seeds are produced.

Embryo Dormancy

• The seeds of clematis can survive extreme conditions because the embryo remains dormant until the environment is ideal for their germination. Embryo dormancy is a kind of dormancy caused by a chemical inhibitor within the embryo itself. The seed coat remains permeable so that the chemicals inside the embryo can be influenced by the conditions outside the seed.

Propagating Clematis Seeds

• In a state of nature, the clematis plant drops its seeds in the fall and the seeds lay in the soil nearby for the winter. An extended period of cool temperatures followed by warming signal the clematis embryo that it's time to start growing. Clematis seeds can be forced to grow using a technique that mimics these conditions.

Stratification of Clematis Seeds

• Stratification is the process of tricking a seed in to germinating, even if the weather conditions are unfavorable according to its own internal clock. In many clematis species, seeds can be forced to germinate if kept in a soilless medium at temperatures around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a refrigerator safe container with a lid about three quarters of the way with your soilless seed medium and plant the seeds just below the surface. Wet the soil until it is just moist. Place a lid on the container and store in the refrigerator for one to three months. Check regularly for fungal growth, or pretreat the seeds with Captan.

Self-Cloning of Clematis

• Clematis can also propagate themselves by layering. Layering requires a side-shoot that is long enough to get away from the shadow of the original plant. The top-heavy shoot eventually bends down to the ground and works itself in to the soil. This activity eventually creates a new root system for a new plant. In the cultivated garden, this same effect can be achieved by wounding the plant at the spot on the shoot where you wish for the new plant to root and burying it in the soil, while still attached to the mother plant. Within six weeks, the layered shoot will have developed its own roots.