The Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis, otherwise known as the Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ or Japanese Clethra, Japanese Sweet Shrub, White Alder, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis belongs to the Clethraceae family, the genus Clethra and the species Barbinervis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ (KLEM-uh-tiss cart-MAN-ee-eye).
As with other Clethra’s, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis is a plant native to the China to Japan.
You might be wondering why your Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 6 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a and the ideal climate zone is between 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ can grow up to 10′ – 20′ (3m – 6m) in 10′ – 20′ (3m – 6m) and 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m) in 10′ – 15′ (3m – 4.5m).
These dimensions make the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful trailing shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 120″ – 180″ (300cm – 450cm) free so the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis requires soil with high organic matter, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in shade, or partial sun to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its fragrant and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis produces some beautiful white, or white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
The Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis is well known for being able to attract butterflies, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Garden
Now, let’s talk garden and how your Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis will look best in it.
Most Clematis X Cartmanii ‘Early Sensation’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most mediterranean, cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in ponds and streams, others use it for landscaping in a urban garden, specimen, privacy screen, mass planting, espalier, container, border, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Acer, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Rosa will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Early Sensation Evergreen Clematis in your garden or home.
