The shade probably helped - it kept the ground frozen.

I live in Wisconsin. Winters are long and temps are often in the single digits and sometimes well below zero. I kept 2 or 3 potted clematis in the garage two winters ago. It isn't warmer in the garage, but it does keep them dryer. All survived. This year I have 5 clematis in the garage. I'll be taking them out of the garage in a few days, so it will be a while before they start growing, but I expect all of them to be fine.

Jane, I may have to plant some more! lol. I'll be moving the pot to a different location. Refresh me on the sun it needs. Morning sun only, right? It gets very hot here.

Oh, did you water yours when it was in the garage? Mine got moisture since it sat outside.

I live in middle TN about 20 miles south of Nashville and we can have a wind chill below 0 sometimes and I have about 8 clematis that are in large 5 gal plastic pots and they sit out in the opening all winter long and always come back year after year. I have two 5 gal pots with a 4 year old Ramona and a 3 year old Polish Sprit that sit on my front porch with no pretection what so ever from the north wind and the dirt freezes solid in the pots. The Ramona right now has about 15 buds on her and is about 4 foot tall on her trellis. The Polish Sprit is about 3 foot tall and is growing like a weed with at least 10 or more new green shoots on it. My 5 year old Asao sits out in the opening in her pot all winter and she currently has 20 large buds and is about 4 foot tall... My first year I would move the pots in and out of the unheated garage but I soon gave up on all the moving and just left them to see how it worked out during the winter and never lost the first yet.

Sandy, that's great! Since it's been years since I've grown Clematis, exactly how much sun should they receive? I'm assuming afternoon sun is out, right? I need to put my pot in a good spot for it pretty soon, and I may have to buy more!

Glad I did this topic. :)

oakleyok
I have three Ramona's, two that are planted in the ground and those receive morning sun til about mid morning and those do the best. The one Ramona I have on my front porch receives sun all day and when it really gets hot during the summer months that one can show a bit of distress but I keep it watered well and the pot has a saucer that holds water and it fairs ok in the all day sun. I might move it this year off the front porch after it's bloom flush. I try to prun my two's after their spring bloom flush so they have time to regrow their vines for next years spring blooms. Sandy

Ramona will fade in hot afternoon sun.

Most Clematis are very winter hardy and suffer more from lack of water in summer than winter cold.

Thanks Sandy and Buy. I moved my pot today to a spot where it will get good morning sun, and maybe some late evening sun. I'm good about watering since my main flowerbeds are close to the front and side of the house.

The rule of thumb I've seen (and it seems to be borne out in my experience) is that a plant in an unprotected pot should be 2 zones hardier than the place it's in, so for you in zone 7, a plant hardy to zone 5 should survive. As Janetpetiole said, it was probably helpful for it to be in shade this winter since repeated freezing and thawing is difficult on a plant because the soil moves in that process and may disturb roots.

Most Clematis are hardy to zone 4 and some to 3.

oakleyok, I didn't water the pots in the garage because they went in frozen. I start checking if they need the water after the soil thaws.