Joe, C. 'Guernsey Cream' is not a cirrhosa cultivar. I think you meant 'Wisley Cream'.

I'll add

C. integrifolia and cultivars
C. x 'Durandii'
C. 'Huldine'
C. 'Perle d'Azur'
C. 'Jackmanii'
C. texensis and cultivars
and C. tanguitica and cultivars

Most of these do not (or rarely) succumb to the dreaded Clematis Wilt so prevalent in the early large flowered hybrids.

It's interesting that you include C. armandii. While it is a vigorous grower, it is not frost tolerant, so I would hesitate to grow it in areas with regular freezes.

wanda

C. Armandii have been through quite a few frosts here in the last 10 years. I like all your choices but wonder why Montanas were left out. Al

I did mean 'Wisley Cream' and I don't know why I said 'Guernsey Cream'; I'm not sure if I even know 'Guernsey Cream'.

I agree with Al in that C. armandii does tolerate frosts. Quite a few, in fact, as he says. I've seen it in many locations where it has to withstand such.

I didn't include the montanas because I have not found them easy and I know many other, average to very good gardeners who say the same.

Joe

I have found C. armandii to be very tough here in Redwood City, Sunset zone 16. During the latter half of 2005 we had some remodeling work done around the house and the C. armandii withstood chopping down to the roots, tenting for termite fumigation and no water for the entire summer.

The clematis, along with the Lady Banks Rose and the Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage) that it is growing amongst, is coming back strong  it is already 2 ft tall!

Lynda

I have to agree with Al. I have one Montana and have never had a problem with it.

That said, vitacellas are my clems of choice. Easy going and get two to three flushes per season.

I hope you'll all note that I said VERY EASY "in almost every part" of California.

You northern Californias have the advantage of a much better soil quality and water quality. It's different here on the Central Coast and VERY different in Southern California. And amendment isn't the answer.

We envy you your Clematis. But then, we have plenty of other choices that you struggle with up there.

Joe

I guess Armandii would do okay in many CA locations, but I was mostly thinking of the areas that get snowfall or consistent winter nighttime temps below 20. While they do survive okay here, I've also seen the leaves burned by our frosts in the colder winters.

So true when you say "amendment isn't the answer", Joe. I've tried several times with some of the alpinas and they just don't like it here.

wanda

'Guernsey Cream'

I bet you were thinking of cheese, Joe! :D And I don't blame you one bit. Mmmmm.

I have to admit that the soil in my area (Woodland/Sacramento) is pretty good, but my mom's (up in Redding) is terrible - rocky clay that, if it isn't "just right", is real fun in which to plant. If it's too wet, it's just one solid glob. If it's too dry, forget doing anything to it, let alone digging.

Wanda is tempting me with Clematis, though, so maybe....:)

Brenda

Well thanks a whole lot for your enabling... today I bought two new Clematis -- 'Polish Spirit' and 'Minuet' which I will grow together to the right of our big Westerland climbing rose. On the other side of the rose is Venosa Violacea which I planted 2 years ago. This weekend I will dig and amend the hole, which I began preparing a year ago by piling garden waste/mulch on top of it. The soil is pretty soft there now. Now is the time to plant with the rose cut way back.

You're all a bad influence!!! ;-)

BTW, I ordered them from Joy Creek Nursery. I've read excellent comments about their Clematis. I bought my first ones at Chalk Hill but they are out of Minuet and I didn't want to order from two different places. They are also an excellent source.

Jen

LOL! Be very careful, Jen. Clematis can turn into an addiction. I started with "just a few", then I got a couple more, and then one spring when I started making a list of pruning groups, I found I had 12. Now I'm up to 70 something and I have a list of wants for my spring purchase.

Be sure to plant them deep with at least one or 2 nodes below the soil. I usually add a handful of bonemeal to the hole as well.

Brushwood Nursery is also a good source........bwahaha

wanda

Thanks Wanda -- thanks a whole lot!!! Now I want to buy a few more.... Jackmanii, Ramona, the list goes on. I'd like one to plant with our Zepherine Drouhin rose but I'm not sure I'm even going to keep the rose because of its disease-proneness in spring, yet every year I decide to give it "one more year". A dark purple like Jackmanii would look beautiful with it though, don't you think? :-) Oh I also have Prince Charles which is planted on the fringes of Zepherine Drouhin, so after the new ones arrive I'll have four!! Never thought I'd even have that many. :-)

I can't imagine having as many as you do!! Where do you put them all? My mom's former neighbor had a large yard but a lot of her Clematis were in large 5-gallon nursery pots. Do you grow any of yours that way? Trouble is, we don't have automatic watering set up (yet) so I'd have to do a LOT of hand-watering in the summer.... not sure I want to do that. What is your favorite, if you have one? I know it must be hard to narrow it down to just one.

Thanks for the planting tip too. I'll be sure to do that.

Jen

Jackmannii is pretty nice and fairly easy. If you want a viticella, 'Polish Spirit' or 'Etoile Violet' are both great purples. I have 'Etoile Violet' with a Don Juan climber.
A really nice hybrid, if you can get your hands on one, with a really stunning deep blue-purple flower is 'Harlow Carr'. It's one of the Evison series put out by Hines Nurserys last year.
I don't have a pic of it, but here's 'Etoile Violet'

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and 'Polish Spirit' (right), 'Henryi' (white) and Jackmannii (left/center)
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Just beautiful, Wanda!! Nice to see Polish Spirit and Jackmannii together so I can see the color difference. I detect a lot of red in PS, much less in Jackmannii. Is that what you see with naked eye? Etoile Violet is beautiful too and looks very much like Polish Spirit except for two more petals. Now I'm not sure which one I like best. I hope the ones I chose will look as good together as your beautiful combination.

Thanks,
Jen

Wanda your clematis are so pretty! I have 2 'Jackmanii' and 1 'Hagley Hybrid' but so far I have only seen a single bloom off HH (I really enjoyed it though).

Your garden is such an inspiration :-)

Thanks, Melle. I have Hagley Hybrid, too, and it's been an uphill battle. It survives and puts out a bloom or 2, but is a very weak grower for me.

Jenn, it occured to me that I didn't answer any of your questions.
"Where do you put them all?" Had to laugh at this. Probably the reason I have so many is because I ran out of room. Clematis grow up, so they don't take up a lot of ground space and most can grow through other plants and strangle them. I grow them through shrubs, trees, roses, tall perennials (like salvias). I have herbaceous ones (Petit Faucon) that get just a few feet tall that clambers through the perennial bed using the plants for support.
You can stick them almost anywhere.
I have a few of the smaller varities that I grow in large pots, but most are planted in the ground. The exceptions are the ones in my plant ghetto waiting for a home...LOL, and the ones that I consider too small to be planted. They go into pots, are babied for a season, and planted the following spring (or fall).

It is hard to pick a favorite, but If I had to only have 1 Clematis, it would be Durandii, a non-climber that only gets about 6' and fills an obelisk nicely. It's extremely hardy, blooms non-stop from spring through fall, and is a gorgeous blue color.
{{gwi:509047}}

that should have read "...and NOT strangle them"

WOW!!!! Is it really that blue? Blue is my favorite color and it is absolutely gorgeous with that rose.

I was a little worried at first when you said "strangle them".... I thought maybe that was a way of getting rid of plants you don't want. :-)

Thanks for coming back to answer my questions, Wanda. I love to see pictures of your yard, it looks so lush and peaceful.

Jen

I'm surprised Hagley Hybrid does not do well for you. I'm new at clematis (and gardening) but I have two of them, one in sun and one in mostly shade, and they have grown well and flowered well for me in Petaluma.