Nelly fades in full sun for sure. I am constantly trimming and training all of my Clematis. Not sure they'd be any less work than the rose....

One of my best bloomers is Rooguchi, both in sheer numbers and over a long period of time.

Well, darn, I was afraid Nelly might fade.

I haven't heard of Rooguchi, but I'll check it out. Thanks!

What about Veronica's Choice, Multi-Blue or Crystal Fountain?

I have Multi-Blue and Crystal Fountain, both are smallish growers for me and not terribly vigorous. Multi-Blue fades a little bit for me but not like Nelly would. If I lived in Texas I'd plant Nelly is half a day of shade.

Would you say Nelly blooms longer than Multi-Blue or Crystal Fountain? Any other suggestions for a long bloomer that doesn't get too tall?

I have plenty of Roguchii if you decide to go with it. It's not too vigorous in SC.

Nelly is my weakest Clematis, even tho she is one of my oldest, Polish spirt is very strong for me and does really well in direct sun, Jackmanii also does really well, My Crystal Fountain already has buds and my Ramon is budding already, Asao is coming on strong, its my earlies bloomer of all my 25 Clamatis.Barbara Harrington is all so a strong Clematis and blooms for me until frost.

What size umbrella trellis did you get? I have the 3 ft one I think that I planted Madame Julia Correvon on 2 seasons ago and it has done well, but I did notice that they tend to have trouble holding onto the trellis itself because the bars are too wide. I ended up having to wrap the umbrella trellis with fish line to get it to hold on. The fish line wasn't the best idea either though because the line itself is so small. I may try wrappinig the trellis with something else this season or get another kind of trellis altogether.

Prince Charles is a nice lighter blue medium sized clematis that repeat blooms well for me. It is a pruning type 3 (prune hard) and is usually listed as a viticella. The article I've linked to below says that it often has a pink tone to the blue, but I've been growing it for about seven years and it has never had a pink tone to my eye. To me it always looks like a light to medium violet blue color - a color I particularly like because it really stands out in the dusk. Mine grows on the north side of my garage and it probably doesn't get more than about four hours of direct sun daily, so I can't really tell you about whether the color would fade in more sunshine. For me, the first big bloom comes in early May most years, then it always blooms again in July and in the fall. If I cut it back to 3 or 4 feet after each bloom cycle, then the repeat bloom will be heavier, but I often don't cut it back until August to September for a larger fall display.

For the best first year performance I've had from a clematis, I would recommend Galore. It is a lovely dark purple with dusky overtones, and it is the only clematis of which I have more than one plant. Both of my plants bloomed really well their first year. This one will grow a bit larger than Prince Charles, but it will also respond to being cut back after flowering with a larger repeat bloom.

When I lived in Oklahoma, I grew Madame Julia Correvon in front of our cream colored house. It did really well, even with all the reflected light and heat. I never cut it back after flowering but just pruned it hard each spring, and I do remember that it did keep blooming for a very long time.

Here is a photo of Prince Charles from May 8, 2008.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis on the Web article about Prince Charles

Thank you, Erin :)

Thanks, Sandy. I had Polish Spirit before and it does great in Texas. In fact, I wonder if it would be too much for my trellis since it grew like gangbusters.

kentstar - I can't remember the exact size, but I think it was the tallest one they had..maybe six feet?

plantloverkat - I love the color of Prince Charles. I had Emelia Plater (similar color) at my last house, but I moved before I really got a chance to see how it did.

Like alot of people, I think I was hoping to get something with bigger blooms, but it may be best for me to stick with the viticellas for the bloom power.

Msrose, I agree that some of the ones with larger flowers look stunning, but I have no experience growing them. Hopefully someone else in Texas will add their experience.

If you've never seen it before, there is an online article from 2006 written by a person who grows clematis in Atlanta - she lists those that have been successful for her as well as some that have not. I cannot link directly to the article, but on the home page there is a list of articles about vines. If you scroll down a little more than halfway through the list, there is an article called "Growing clematis in hot climates". Once you get to the article, you will see that most of her list appears in blue type - these are active links that will open that clematis page on the right hand side of the screen. Perhaps this will give you some ideas.

Everyone's yard is different, with different soil, different light exposure and different water. I think that if there is a clematis that you really like, you should just give it a try. If you don't mind experimenting, I'm sure there are others that can take more heat. Of course, a bit of shade in the afternoon could always be helpful, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis Container Nursery

plantloverkat - I found the article you mentioned and she mentions two really pretty white ones...Huldine and Marie Boisselot. Does anyone have any opinions on which one would be better?

Huldine is a huge grower, equal to Polish Spirit. I have Prince Charles too and it does not fade and is a less aggressive grower and the flowers are bigger than Polish Spirit though not as big as Nelly Moser which I do not grow.

I have Huldine growing up a purple leaf plum and Polish Spirit growing up a crabapple. Both have reached the top of the tree easily. Much too large for a six foot trellis.

Prince Charles reaches the top of a seven foot trellis and flops back down a couple of feet on all sides. This is with annual pruning to the ground.

Yikes! I'm certainly glad I asked about Huldine then.

I found this picture of Prince Charles. Stunning!

{{gwi:575309}}

This post was edited by msrose on Sat, Feb 16, 13 at 12:36

Here is mine, that part of the trellis is 7' tall and this picture was taken in July before it reached full growth.

Thanks for the picture. I think it's down to Prince Charles or Marie Boisselot.

msrose:
loved the picture of Prince Charles on the wall. Can anyone see or guess what kind of trellis is being used? I can't see any. I have two H.L. Young that will be about the same size 6'-9' still in pots since the fall and the reverse dilemma--can't decide what type, size support to get. Young will not get pruned to the ground each year like Charles, so I expect it will be taller than 9'.

plantloverkat: how tall is the wrought iron trellis shown in your pix??

Well, I finally decided on Marie Boisselot, but now I can't find it anywhere online. Anyone have any ideas where I can get it?

It looks like both Donahue's and Bird Song Farm carry Marie Boisselot. I believe that both sell smaller sized plants. I have never purchased from Bird Song Farms, but I think I remember that jeanne_texas said that she purchased plants from them.

Joy Creek has Clematis Mevrouw Le Coutre, which Clematis on the Web says "is extremely similar to Marie Boisselot" and "is sometimes (wrongly) listed as a synonym."

You could also consider a pruning group 3 white clematis such as John Huxtable or Huldine, which I think might be more readily available. Jeanne from TX has posted photos of John Huxtable on Dave's Garden where she says "Wonderful White Clematis with Creamy Yellow Anthers" and "Slower to get established than "Huldine" but beautiful anyway". Another thing to think about is that the pruning group 3s are reported to tolerate heat better than the pruning group 2s - this is based on what I have read and not on my personal experience since almost all of mine are type 3.

Here is a link that might be useful: old Gardenweb thread

This post was edited by plantloverkat on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 16:44

plantloverkat - Thank you so much for your help. I've never had a type 2 and really wanted to try one, so I've decided to give Marie Boisselot a try. I ordered it from Donohues. Will it probably not due much the first year since it's a smaller plant? Anything special I need to do with a smaller one?