They are a wonderful and addictive plant. Two on the same trellis are fine as long as they are the same pruning group. Group 3 is pruned almost to the ground every winter. Group 2 is pruned back about one half to one third. Group 1 is pruned only to shape after the bloom. You can see the problem trying to prune them differently if they are all twined together. Most of my group 2 I prune like group 3. This works OK in the long growing season of California. Prepare your soil deep as Clematis are deep rooted and prefer being planted deep. What ever you plant this year, next year you will be looking for more varieties. Al

Can you get advice from your local nursery? They could give you valuable advice on your local conditions. South-facing against stucco might be kinda warm for them in an LA summer. Or maybe not...just something to find out about.
I am in No. Cal. I've got several clematis on a fence under a pine tree. Shady with a south-west orientation. These grow up into my neighbor's trees. Then I have more planted under an arbor with a climbing rose on the arbor. The arbor faces south. The clematis grow right to the top using the rose branches as support and bloom with the roses up in the sunshine. Very nice!
And pruning? Some years I do, some years I don't. One year I cut them down almost to the ground. The next year I didn't prune them at all. Didn't seem to make much difference in terms of flowering.
They just need something to climb up or on or over. Roots in shade, tops in sun is good, but they are adaptable.
I've got a jackmanii, a nelly moser, and a red one and a light purple one, the names of which I have forgotten.
The pure white flowered ones are my favorite though.

Like Al stated, you should stick to one pruning group. Jackmanii is a group 3 and those (group 3's) are the easiest and less prone to wilt. Viticella hybrids are all group 3's, very vigorous and easy for beginners. Venosa violacea is a group 3 and a gorgeous one. Other purples in this group are Etoile violet and Polish spirit. Perle d'Azur is a beautiful blue one.

Here are 2 good on-line sites with great plants. I've ordered from both several times.

www.chalkhillclematis.com
www.silverstarvinery.com

Also, one thing to know about clemtis is to plant them deep with 1 or 2 of the leafbuds under soil.

You should also check out the clematis forum here, and another great one at www.gardenbuddies.com

wanda

Oh...all of those mentioned and more are included in my clematis album. I'm a total addict.

Here is a link that might be useful: wanda's clematis album

WOW Wanda, those are fabulous! Penny

Whoa, Nellie! Beautiful, bountiful Clematis, Wanda!!

I've been wanting to try them, too. Thanks for giving me that extra nudge. :)

Brenda

Wanda you have a great selection of Clematis. If you can find room for one more I would recommend Lasurstern. A hundred year old German variety with truly flawless flowers. Al

Now you've done it! I went to Silver Star and ordered 2!

Penny

LOL, Penny! They are addicting. Which 2 did you get?

I have 8 on order from her. Debby is great and you will be very happy with her plants.

Lasurstern is a beauty, Al. I've looked at it before. We'll see how I do with my spring planting. I just got done pruning and fertilizing, and I counted 75 (not including the repeats) and I have 13 on order, but I'm sure I'll find room for more for my fall planting.......LOL I assume you have that one? Can you post a picture for us?

wanda

Avant-Garde and Purple Spider. I only have one in the ground and several in tubs with trellis. I'm in love!!!!

Penny

I might have a chance to get one or 2 from a local nursery (possibly not until May...) - C. armandii and/or montana rubens. Any advice on these?

Brenda

Those are both large, vigorous vines. A simple trellis won't hold them. They need space and strong supports. Growing on a gazebo, over a porch, or lathhouse, or through conifers would be ideal. C. armandii is evergreen and a bit tender and mainly just a spring bloomer. Both are pruning group 1 (no pruning except to shape or keep in bounds).

wanda

I have the evergreen one in a large tub and trellis. After it bloomed last year, I cut it back and now you would never know.
It is loaded with bloom buds. I guess the rules are not written in stone. I didn't realize this was a no prune one.

Penny

Oh dear, I think I'm hooked already.

Thanks to you, my fellow gardeners, I'm now not feeling intimidated at all, but I do now have another problem - which ones to choose! Wanda, your photos are stunning, really inspirational. How on earth do you fit everything in one garden?!

I have spent far more time than I care to admit, poring over the Clematis at Chalk Hill and Silver Star, trying to come up with the perfect pair for my trellis. I think I've come to the conclusion that trying to find two blue/purples that compliment each other could be a little tricky without seeing them in person, so I've decided to make one of the pair a white. I think John Huxtable is going to be my white - any thoughts? I'm still stuck on the purple, but my short list, I think, is Viola, Venosa violacea, Bonanza, or Rhapsody. I am also sorely tempted by Debby's Honey Buns...

So now, of course, I'm thinking where else can I put a clematis so I don't have to make such a difficult decision! How much shade can a clematis tolerate? I had to remove an Austin rose from the north side of an arbor, because the morning sun just wasn't enough for it. A clematis would look awesome there, especially as I have Abraham Darby growing up the other side... How far apart should they be spaced when planting, and how much growth and bloom would you expect to see in the first year?

Just off to get the credit card warmed up. Thank you everyone.

Provence

My experience with Clematis (I have about 20 of them) is that if the roots are in too much shade the plants don't grow that well.

What they really need is to not ever ever dry out, which is of course easier to achieve with shade. I have Viola, Venosa violacea, and Rhapsody. If you don't have Jackmanii, I'd go with Jackmanii before any of those previous 3, just because it is so very easy and gets so big. They are all of them very, very good. Perle d'Azur from Chalk Hill is a must-have.

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Cezanne:
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I love Cezanne the new patio clematis.

Penny

Provence, check Chalk Hill's site again. I believe he has a list of Clematis for shade.
Ones I have in shady locations are Alba luxurians, Perle d'Azur, Claire de Lune, Huldine and Miss Bateman

I haven't grown John Huxtable, but Huldine is a really nice white one.

How do I fit them in? That's one of the reasons I got so addicted, cause they fit anywhere. I ran out of room to plant, but Clematis utilize "up"...I have non-clinging ones growing through shrubs, herbaceous ones through perennials, vining ones through trees, shrubs, posts, whatever. A true addict! LOL

Nah, Penny, no stone rules. I chopped a couple of group 2's down to the ground by mistake one year. I was so worried, but they put up a zillion new stems! Since then I've learned that even group 2's should be cut back the lst year to produce more stems. I prune some of the stems of my group 2's down, so I get blooms on the entire length of the vine and vary the bloom time.
I've been going around pinching growing tips on the new growth this week so I'll get more stems.

Cezanne is a really pretty one. I bought that one last year. Another pretty one in the Evison collection is 'Wisely', a deeper blue.

Oh yeah......Provence, you mentioned Rhapsody. It's gorgeous!!! A really stunning deep indigo blue. It almost glows. I started a couple of cuttings from my plant this year. Hope they take!

Beautiful Clematis, Hoovb! They look really happy!

wanda

I would like to hear about how you fertilize your clematis. I've got three in my garden - they do OK, but not great... I want to know how to get OK clematis to become great plants...

BettyN

Thanks Wanda for sharing your gorgeous photos and for the down-to-earth "care" info. I just recently got a Jackmannii at Lowes, in a box, reasonably priced. But I too, became intimidated by all the "stuff" I have been reading. I have the "root" in a gallon pot in the green house for now. Looking forward to seeing it in the ground growing! Pat

I think the general consensus is to use organic rose or tomato food. I've also heard just bonemeal.

I use either E.B Stones tomato food or (gulp!) non-organic Bayer's 2 in 1 rose food. I fertilize right after my spring (mid-late Feb for me) pruning and again after they bloom. You should ask on the Clematis forum.

One other thing, Clematis usually take 3 seasons to really shine.

Calpat, there's a lot of info out there from folks way more knowledgeable than I. The Clematis forum here is an excellent resource. I hate to burst your bubble, but you should keep your little Jackmani in the pot this year and "baby" it. Those tiny root systems in boxes are just developing and need extra fertilizer and care. Wait until fall or even next spring to plant it in the ground.

wanda

Thanks so much for all of your info, Wanda! I'm sure I'll be visiting the Clematis forum in the future (after actually purchasing one LOL), but you've been VERY helpful so far! :)

Gorgeous Clems, Hoovb! They look like dessert.

Brenda

calpat: heartily agree with wanda re: keeping your new clematis in a pot for a season. I've found those clematis in a box can sometimes disappear after planting out, if planted right out of the box.
I potted up one from a box & kept it in my greenhouse for a season. Now it's out, waking up & roaming around looking for something to climb. I believe this one is "the president".

Wanda,

I'm curious - why EB Stone Tomato food rather than EB Stone Rose food??

BettyN

Beats me! LOL Either would be fine. I probably use the tomato food cause that's what I feed my tomatoes. I use Bayer 2 in 1 on my roses which is why some of them get that.

wanda

Well I guess it is time I learn to post pictures. This is my Lasurstern taken last year. Yesterday I repotted all my container Clematis. After two years in a pot there is not much soil left and an entire pot of roots. Al{{gwi:512230}}

Al, do you cut them back when you repot them. I know I will need to do this soon with a couple. I did pot some into larger containers. I use organics that I mix myself to fertilize and they have had their spring feeds. It's a mixture of bone meal, cottonseed meal and blood meal.

Penny

Penny I did 6 all but one going back into pots. I removed about half the root mass and pressure washed all the old soil out of the remaining root ball. New #1 nursery mix soil with time delay fertilizer and a few scoops of homemade compost washed into the roots. Clematis appreciate a steady supply of nutrients and I top dress the containers with compost during the growing season. Some were type 3 and some type 2 but they all get cut down when used in containers whether I am repotting or not. Al

Very pretty, Al.
So do you always repot your container clems every 2 years?
Why do you prune the gp.2's like gp. 3's? Doesn't that delay the blooming so you only get one bloom per season out of them?
Just curious...I only have 1 in a container that was just planted last year.

wanda

Except for the evergreen one, I usually get 2 blooms per year even thro I cut back after the first bloom.

Penny

Wanda I resolve to repot after two years, but I do not always keep my resolutions. In 16 to 18 inch pots they are ready to be repoted in new soil. If the pot is on the ground the roots grow into the ground or they plug the drain hole if on a hard surface causing root rot if not noticed. Group 2 that are on trees and ground planted I pretty much ignore. In pots I want the bloom to be at eye level and be fresh looking,and I find that works if I cut back group two the same as group 3. It will delay the early bloom but that is OK. Al

LOL! Glad to hear I'm not the only one lax in resolution keeping.

Thanks for the info, Al. I may have to resort to pots one day soon if this addiction continues. Course, then I'll have to find room for the pots......

wanda