Hi Joan, Thanks! I think I got pretty lucky. The one parent has got to be this clematis below. It was a cheap little box clematis I bought a long time ago listed as Blue on the box, lol. I have it growing in with this clematis below which I bought at the same time listed as Purple on the box. I also didn't know about plant spacing at the time either, lol! But I have a few other clematis close by including Star of India, Ernest Markham, and Beth Curry, so who knows! Remy

yes, i really do want to be taken seriously. if you haven't already, please take a look at the links i provided. it's something that, honestly, i didn't think much about until i saw that frontline episode about wal-mart. and then i did a little more research --- and began to catch-on that this box store business model is a scam. you know the saying: "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is"? well, after looking into a bit, i began to realize, that yeah, the bargains being offered are being subsized through other means. five of the ten riches americans are walton (wal-mart) family. and, yet, in spite of this --- the _taxpayers_ are expected to subsidize their employees. and communities often use all sorts of packages to lure the box stores to open their doors. who pays for these packages? the community. and then the money spent in the box store flows out of the community, and into the coffers of the corporation. i know, it's not apparent at the check-out that you're actually paying more --- but you are. and maybe it means cuts in education --- while a new road is being built to the newest box store location. or maybe it means cuts in funding the education of children --- while more box store employees enroll to receive public assistance such as healthcare. and while you, personally, may have more to spend elsewhere --- the employees of the box store have less. the employees that manufacture the products sold in box stores have less (as their jobs move overseas to keep the lowest prices the boxstores demand). our landscapes are ripped-up and destroyed with new box stores. and then the box store closes, and builds a bigger box in a new location. and maybe it means the transformation of our downtowns, into ghost-towns. the local businesses close. the irony is that maybe a portion of _their_ taxes were being used to subsidize the box store. i think we need to be careful that we are not exchanging the heart & soul of our community for the pursuit of lower prices (which, we ultimately subsidize with our tax dollars). i know you don't really notice it, and you see the lower prices, and think it's a good deal. i used to think like that, too. but the more i've looked into it, the more i've started to catch-on to how this is really a scam. --robbie--

Two suggestions-1)post a picture of the foliage on your plant or 2)ask the person who gave it to you what type of clematis it is. I agree with Marie that most likely it is one of the atragenes perhaps-either alpina or macropetala. If it is one of these types, try planting it in a spot where it will be shaded from the hot afternoon sun as these types don't like that type of exposure in my climate. Here is a shot of a macropetala that I had in my garden in the past. There are a couple of other types of clematis that it could be including a small heracleifolia (this is shrubby type that doesn't have vines so you should be able to rule this in or out if it is starting to produce vines), potaninii, cartmanii Joe or other various uncommon varieties. A better description of the plant, its growth pattern, a picture of the plant and/or the flowers once it flowers would be helpful. Here is a link that might be useful: potaninii

Thanks guys! It always feels good knowing exactly what you have. At 1st I wasn't real happy with the fact it wasn't Niobe but it is growing on me (no pun intended). I do like the contrast. What I have noticed is that is susceptible to powdery mildew. If you closely look at the pic above you can see it starting to develop. It is located just a few feet from the Niobe with the exact same sun situation & Niobe is perfectly clean. This guy is starting to develop that ugly disease & if it persists it may have to moved to a place with morning sun. I am having a hard time believing that adequate watering will prevent this disease with all the rain we have had so it is more likely a situation of getting dried with morning sun ASAP. I like good solid clean plants with no problems. I'd rather spend my hard earned money on plants than chemicals. Now that I have grown attached to him & love the way he blends with my other plants, he is making my life difficult.