I have a question about Gertrude Jekyll. I pruned mine after its last flush to about 2-2.5ft and it looked pretty tidy for about two weeks It's since put out a couple of basals and new growth that has to be 5ft at least at this point. Gertrude Jekyll on 8/2/16 Gertrude Jekyll 8 days later As you can see, my GT is looking kind of gangly - Clearly I didn't prune it hard enough! My question is is it necessary to wait until after the cane blooms to cut it down? This is sitting out in front of a window at my apartment, and is kind of an eye sore to look at, plus, I don't want to draw unwanted attention. If it helps to know, I'm in NC zone 7b. AKA humid and hot!

Alina, where did you hear that about plants in containers having their hardiness ratings raised by 2 zones? I would have thought the opposite since in the winter they would be exposed to the colder temps. and wind and the rootballs would get colder that much faster. They would warm up faster in spring for sure, but in the winter they would be less protected than those in the ground since the ground would insulate them. luvvt, the point that I was making is the although FS is only listed as hardy in zones 7 to 9 in the Toomey and Leeds Encyclopedia of Clematis, this only proves that the information out there leaves much to be desired as far as how hardy the various clematis are. Like I said, I know of at least one person in Michigan who grows it with no issues so its survival in your zone, even in a container, shouldn't be an issue. Don't give up on any clematis too fast. They tend to show up at the oddest times. I know that a few of the US native ones always come up late for me, including viorna and pitcheri, and I am always wondering if they survived each year. They always seem to show up when it suits their fancy.

Okay - I win the "dumb dumb" award - the answer was in a question that I had asked earlier about the "old wood" I thought that it must be in a different post - sorry Fern

Ok, first the chlorine shouldn't be a big deal on most plants. So, aiming for things that aren't prickly and don't attract bees... for small shrubs, dogwood and spirea come to mind. Both do attract bees but they bloom early when they probably won't be using the pool. For perennials, my favourite perennial in the whole world this year is Penstemon 'Dwarf Navigator'. It's tidy, bright coloured, trouble-free, blooms a ton, and I don't notice a lot of bees around it. Also Painted Daisies, columbine, and hardy geraniums (cranes-bills) come to mind. Most flowers attract bees a bit but bees aren't overly crazy about any of these in my experience. Hope that helps to start it off, what's everyone else think?