kevin, i have grown clem integrifolia, fairly blue, for 10+ yrs. It is at the top of one of our 'walls' in an area we call 'the chasm'.I love its small blue bells that bloom for a long time- the first half of the summer. To keep it from flopping ,which is its natural habit, we have placed a cut-down tomato cage over it so that it fountains over the top of it. ( see how we do these supports here:
http://www.cottonarboretum.com/garden-lessons/techniques/

With its placement above our heads, we look up into the down-facing flowers. we have it next to a hinoki cypress so the blue flowers have a solid backdrop and don't just disappear into the sky.
brushwood nursery has really good clem selection.

i'm in my first summer w/ a few herachs. Great plant, some are more blue than ppl.

best,
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: support for clem integrifolia

I have been growing c. integrifolia 'Bushy Blue Bell' for many years. I use a cross hatched support to keep stems off the ground as a mound. When they get longer they droop over the edges.

{{gwi:261467}}

{{gwi:261468}}

great to see how lovely the integ can look in a regular perennial bed. i'm defntly going to try that soon. was yours from a catalogue, mn?
mindy

btw,isn't this a cool intro? it looks like a herach. but its name doesn't say that. wonder when it will get into the trade...........
best,
mindy

I have multiple integrifolias mixed into my flower beds with shrubs and perennials.

'Pangbourne Pink'

{{gwi:261469}}

'Petite Faucon' before it got so big it smothered that Azalea almost to death. Haven't solved that problem yet.

{{gwi:261470}}

recta purpurea winding around

{{gwi:261471}}

recta purpurea blooming from the other direction

{{gwi:261472}}

Gazelle scrambling happily

{{gwi:261473}}

integrifolia

{{gwi:261474}}

Juuli

{{gwi:261476}}

I have more to say and more questions, but I'll have to wait until later. In the meantime I should have posted a pic of my davidiana from last year. It's not a good pic, but gives you an idea of the blooms. This is a late bloomer - probably the end of Aug or Sept.

Kevin

{{gwi:261478}}

Thank you Mindy, for the tomato cage suggestion. (And thank you, Kevin, for starting this discussion!) I have a c. integrifolia that is still very small, but I can already see the flopping habit - but not quite enough to be trained as a climber - so was a little stumped as to what to do with it. I'll pick up a tomato cage (or maybe a few) at the end of the season this year and be ready for next season, by which time it should really be taking off.

I bought 'Bushy Blue Bell' and c. heracleifolia 'China Purple' from a local nursery.

I grow a lot of clematis, and the one that is really impressing me this year is CLEMATIS integrifolia 'Hakuree'. The nodding, bell-like flowers with splayed petals open white with a bare hint of lilac. Flowers mature snowy white. It's very pretty, but I'm most impressed by its flowering habit. It blooms and blooms and blooms again. Most of my other integrifolias have stopped blooming or are pushing out one or two flowers right now, but 'Hakuree' is resplendent, again. It's just covered in flowers now anbd this is not its first bloom period. I did not deadhead.
The other one I really like is a diversifolia called 'Arabella.'
Here, it is not uncommon to find 'Arabella' in bloom by June and it definitely keeps on producing flowers until a snowfall or two into late fall.

Oh my gosh! You guys are enablers! lol. I love clematis but have no place for climbers, and then I read an article about bush clematis. This is a serious consideration for next year. My local country garden center does not carry the bush type, hopefully I can find it in St. Paul.

Jodi

Wow!

Thanks so much for all the great photos and suggestions. I've seen photos of individual flowers of many of these clematis, but it sure helps to see what they look like growing in a garden.

I also like the ideas that deal with the rambling nature of many of these. Davidiana has the same issues. Although the individual stems grow to about 4 feet and appear very upright, a moderate wind knocks them down to the ground, so you have to figure out some way of keeping them upright if that's the way you want them to be. A few thin bamboo stakes does the job nicely.

If I do end up purchasing some of these I'm thinking a nice informal support of intertwined, thin branches might be worth trying.

Thanks again for the great photos.

Kevin

Jodi, I bought 'Bushy Blue Bell' at Linder's during their mid-August sale. Got 'China Purple' from Dundee's in Plymouth mid-August.

'Bushy Blue Bell' blooms from spring to a killing frost. I deadhead this one because I don't like the dried up seed heads.

'China Purple' blooms late summer/early fall. I have not had to use any supports for it and do not deadhead it.

I just googled China Purple. Lovely. It would fit in very well with my blues, pinks, purples. And would be a nice shot of color in my currently yellow garden.

Thanks for the garden center tips. I appreciate it.

Jodi

I grow h. New Love which becomes a good size shrub. We moved three years ago, now its spot is too shady, does not bloom as heavily as it did at our other house. It grows just as large, just not enough flowers. Guess it will have to be moved again. Did buy this at a local nursery.

wow this is so exciting. buysell,what terrific shots. and I think your growing of the white gazelle up through the berberis- is just plain brilliant.i really liked that little bell shaped support in the first photo; makes for a nice structural element. i just rcvd petit faucon from Lazy Ss sale; hoping to grow it up through a yellow philadelphus in a few yrs.

i am a little confused about bushy blue belle; some google searching i did seemed to say that this is the ONLY blue integr. cultivar. Anyone know differently?
thanks much.

best,
mindy

not shrub or bush, but i see the plant combo would be hardy for your zone,buysell, and thought you might enjoy seeing it.
best,
mindy
it looks like clem violacea? ppl w/ whitish center

buy, don't know what happened to that photo link. if i can refind it, i'll re-post.
mindy

I have two Petit Faucons from Brushwood Nursery. (great source!) This is their second year in these beds and I have been amazed to see them blooming constantly since lateMay/June...whenever they started....despite a terribly hot and dry summer They have been covered with blooms non-stop. I had only grown the tall vining types in the past....these little guys are completely amazing.

oh boy oh boy! i have a teeny Petit Faucon from Lazy S's; someth to look forward to!
thnx much,
mindy

Mine took five years to get to it's full growth which is triple or more the size shown in the picture I posted of it climbing over an azalea above.

I started a clematis stans from seed last year (wintersown) and then put in a big pot on my half day sun deck (it stayed out all winter in Washington DC zone 6b/7a). This year, it has bloomed like crazy from July on and it is still in bloom with the cutest tiny sky blue bells in major abundance. Up close it has a fragrance reminiscent of violets. It has a loose shrubby form and would sprawl without some support.

I started three more this year from seed and plan on putting them where they can fall over a wall (although I'm doing to steal the tomato cage idea too.)