Personally, my experience with Perle d'Azur is that it takes it longer than most clematis to get established and really get growing. In a growth race between a Betty Corning and P d'A of the same size planted at the same time, Betty would win hands down and eat poor P d'A for supper. The fragrance of BC is another feather in her hat in my opinion. I like Huldine quite a bit since the back side of the petals have nice pink down the midribs. Having it hang over a railing would give you great exposure to see this backside coloration, however it's growth rate is not anything like BC in my experience. Plus when you can get fragrance at the same time, BC wins hands down. As far as bloom time, BC wins again in my book both for number and length of bloom period. If you want a white viticella, another choice is Alba luxurians. I personally like the green tipped ends on the white flowers. The one in my garden is only a year old and has done well. A friend in California said that hers has gotten quite large over the years. How many of any of the clematis in question you plant really depends on how long you want to wait to get the area filled in and which one you choose.

Yes.....roughly :-) When a specific clematis blooms does tend to indicate a pruning group (that's often one of the ways suggested to determine how to prune an unidentified vine) but as BorS suggests, the line sometimes become blurred. In general, early blooming vines (before May) bloom on old growth and require minimal to no pruning. If pruning is desired, it is best do so as soon as possible after flowering so as to allow sufficient time for flowering growth to develop for the next season. Midseason bloomers -those that flower anywhere from early May into late June/early July (weather determined) - are most often considered to be pruning group II's. These bloom primarily on old growth and should be pruned lightly once established. Not all group II's will offer a later rebloom; in fact, this group is sometimes subdivided into two groups to indicate those that rebloom and may require an additional light pruning after first bloom flush and those that do not. Late season bloomers - late June and after - are generally pruning group III's and bloom on new growth only and tend to respond best to hard pruning. In mild winter climates and those where the seasons tend to blend and are less distinct - like the Pacific Northwest - you do encounter some overlaps, but in general bloom time does correlate to pruning guidelines. And it is always a good idea to hard prune any new vine regardless of flowering time or pruning group for at least the first one or two growing seasons to aid in establishment and to encourage multiple stemming from the root crown.

Shade is very big volume word- shade from building is different from deciduous tree shade, zone 5 is different from zone 8 shade. Problem with macropetala, alpina- they bloom for me early and look like nothing for the rest of the year, once they are grown for while they are not good for any pruning or moving- very unforgiving when their stems are thicker. they will take considerable shade if shade is from deciduous trees as they will have plenty of sun during blooming time and then trees will leaf out...

I'm a she (Babs is short for Barbara). I live on a farm, so I don't have photos of the whole garden, since it's spread out over various areas around the house and out buildings with at least a few clematis in most of the beds. Most of my beds are large, with mixed shrubs and perennials since almost half our year is winter, so I like having something that looks nice year round. I've been smitten with clematis, and grow them both into shrubs and onto various trellises. I'll pop up a few photos, including some of the less commonly seen ones that do really well for me. I'm partial to the summer bloomers (type 3, hard prune) since there's less going on in the garden then and they are really easy to grow. I also have several early spring bloomers (type 1, no pruning needed) and only a few type 2. Neither the type 1 or type 3 are likely to get clematis wilt and are prolific growers and bloomers for me. Seedheads of 'Stolwijk Gold' (prune 1) which blooms in May for me with steely blue flowers. On the right are a few vines of an unnamed pink bell that blooms midsummer. Here's the pink bell in bloom with just a few fading flowers of Avant Garde near the bottom. Both are relatively small but lovely, and the bumblebees love the bells. (prune 3) Mikelite (prune 3) blooms for a really long time for me, and is faster to start blooming. I love the flower color with the paler petal center and the big boss of stamens. HF Young is one of my few type 2's, and is relatively common. It is a really full bloomer, and the color varies some with the light it's seen in, looking more lavender in brighter light. My favorite dark purple, Viola, shares a large shrub with Betty Corning, both type 3. When I combine 2 or more clematis, I match pruning types to make it easy. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) that they grow on isn't a good choice since the branches are too flexible. I've done best using plants with stiff branches like lilacs and hydrangeas. My only problem growing clematis has been that the voles really like eating them, both summer and winter. After trying a lot of repellants, I've ended up planting them in circles of hardware cloth, wire mesh with 1/4" openings, and that seems to help. My Little Bas got eaten, so I've just replaced it (in a circle of wire mesh) with another. I like the way they look on the lacier types of H. paniculata. Here's the old one with Hydrangea paniculata Quickfire just starting to open buds. Finally, two of my earliest purchases that are still favorites, Ville de Lyon and Venosa Violacea. The left side of this bed is only a year or so old, and the clematis are still on temporary bamboo trellises. It runs parallel to our rural road, and so it's at least partly for the pleasure of those driving by. This is my largest bed and the clematis show up best if you get close to it; several of the photos above came from this bed. I don't have any whole bed photos when the clematis are in bloom, at least partly since they are planted on all sides, and so I couldn't take photos where many showed at once.