Any of the tanguticas have been especially weedy and seed everywhere in my garden--hence they have summarily been removed. Also My Angel, although it can be quite beautiful and the flower coloration is quite unique, was removed from my garden because it suckered and spread in all directions. This might be an attribute if you have an area that it can be contained in though!

Etoile Rose is a mildew magnet in my garden as is Gravetye Beauty. Roguchi is similarly so but I allow it to remain due to the flower coloration. Systemic fungicides have yet proven unsuccessful in stopping the fungal attack for me. I typically just whack the stems back and wait for the plant to regenerate itself.

One of my least favorites is Comtess de Bouchard. It took 5 years before it bloomed. It spends all spring and summer producing 14' of leaves. In August it finally blooms at the very top of the plant so you can hardly see the flowers. It is not a great plant for me.

Flowerfan...Are you not hard pruning your clematis "Comtesse de Bouchard"?..For she is a Hard Prune group 3...She is magnificent in my gardens and has been one of the most vigorous growers and bloomers in my gardens..I got three bloom cycles from her last year...This is year 3 for her and she is bigger and better than ever and filling up with tons of buds..this is a pic from last year....Jeanne
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I like Comtesse de Bouchard as well.

My least favorite is Multi Blue. It has a look of being undeveloped to me. This being it's third year in my garden, I'll give it one more season to impress me, and if it doesn't, it will have to leave. I guess I don't care for doubles, except for Arctic Queen, I like the simple beauty of singles.

I also don't like tangutica. I had such hopes for this one, but it was an earwig magnet.

I have tangutica, but don't like it because it blooms so little, and when it does bloom, it is not very obvious.

'Nelly Moser' is the one I really don't like anymore. It was my first clemmie. I guess I should feel some remorse and attachment, but it doesn't bloom very nicely anymore and the blooms only last about a week and it's done for the year. It is situated in partial shade, but the "stripes" don't show up on it anymore. It is just a lavendar color.

My new favorite is 'Dr. Ruppel'. It just bloomed for the first time this year, and it is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! I also love 'Polish Spirit'. Blooms all season long.

Susan

Nckvilledudes, I also have a My Angel,And have also decided to remove it, for the same reasons.Were you able to remove all of it,or are they still popping up?

Scootini

Hi Jeanne, yes I have pruned CDB to the ground and it still does the same thing. I have tried not pruning it with the hope the vine would grow down the tree and produce flowers lower. I have 2 of them growing in separate small trees and they both grow the same. Lots and lots of foliage and just a few flowers on the top where you can hardly see them. I have over 70 clematis and these have been the worst bloomers for me. Maybe they need heat to do well. All that heat in Texas must make them bloom. Up here in the cool Pacific NW they have been duds for me. Karen

Scootini, I dug up what I could and used roundup on what came up afterwards. Haven't seen it for three years!

Susanlynne, I am surprised with your commments about tanguticas. I had the straight species and the cultivar Helios and both were absolute blooming machines. The blooms on Helios even had the coconutty fragrance. Unfortunately it also suckered and the straight species was too weedy for me!

If you have 70 clematis then far be it for me to make any suggestions..LOL..what kind of fertilizers are you using on your clems?...Jeanne

I don't have CDB but a good friend did in Vancouver BC and he has constant mildew on it so I haven't tried it.

Plants definitely perform differently in different climates.

I am not a fan of Rooguchi. Still waiting for this one to bloom up. Same with Purple P. Elegans.
After reading your comments about my angel I think I am going to dig the little darling out of my garden. I was hoping to get a nice mix with Polish Spirit. But it looks like it has to go..
Laura

Though, I love the flowers of 'Rooguchi' and 'Etoile Rose', these have been real mildew magnets in my garden. 'My Angel' had tiny blooms of the most BLAH colouring, a total disappointment, thus it had gotten tossed!

I'm not so fond of plain old 'Jackmanii', though I do love it's big brother 'Jackmanii Superba'! The mauve colouring of 'Margaret Hunt' had not appealed to me, though I did see photos in which the flowers had a rather nicer pink shade. 'Etoile Violette' is much loved by most people, but I'm not terribly drawn to the very dark and gappy flowers ... though, what a bloom machine!

Terry

I thought I loved PPE but when I saw a mature one in full bloom I decided the flowers looked diseased. I usually like weird flowers too.

Miguel - I grow tangutica intertwined with 'Polish Spirit', and it just hasn't done well. Do you think it is because it would rather move out on its own????? Tee hee! Anyway, the flowers are so inconspicuous, especially with the sun on the vine - the foliage is almost a lime green here, too - that I rarely notice the blooms.

Susan

I agree 100% with flowerfan2 about CDB. I've had the exact same experience.

Susan, my Polish Spirit is a monster and I am sure another clematis coplanted with it might be overwhelmed by its presence. Perhaps moving it out would help it out growthwise.

PPE is either one you like or don't. I personally love it and want Mary Rose which is similar in form but more of a dusty purple in color. Unfortunately it is not yet available here in the states.

PPE with Madame Julia Correvon.

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I love PPE in photos, just not in person in this climate. It is a more dusty sickly color here. The one I saw blooming was huge and covered with blooms and I was surprised that I did not love it.

I'm not a big fan of PPE either, but I wonder whether I should try pairing her with something else to see if it would help.

Oh!!..That is a pretty combo Miguel!!..I have my PPE planted with David Austin's rosa "Cottage Rose"..but may have to get another one for Julia..LOL..Mine seems a more deeper purple than yours??..Jeanne

that IS a pretty combo! it's so pretty i hope you don't mind i steal your idea and go out and get me a mdm julia correvon to be PPE's bride.

my least favorite is nelly moser. just too ubiquitous. dug one up that was mislabeled as bluelight and found it was a two plants intwined in one hole. add my rooting experiment last year and now i have 4 of them. ugh!

wanted to put in a good word for multiblue tho. i don't mind doubles and i love the blooms especially the pompoms after the petals have fallen.

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Go for it Kitova. I love the combo of the two. Others make look at the combination and not see much to look at but the color echo, along with the contrasting flower form was what made me decide to pair them. Now if I could just get Mary Rose to add to the combo!

Oh Miguel..I know ..we are both waiting till the day comes that "Mary Rose" is available here..who was that with that to-die-for pic of her?..Jeanne

Marie is the one who always tempts us with that picture Jeanne.

yea MARIE...naughty naughty Marie..where are ya gal..show us "Mary Rose" and let's us drool!!!!!!!!!

I did not like C. viticella because it reseeded EVERYWHERE and I've been pulling out seedlings for 3 years. Even when I deadheaded carefully seeds seemed to escape me. There's still some out there that need pulling.

Interesting Hoovb as I just got the species C. viticella. I would love for it to reseed everywhere especially if I use it as the seed plant for cross I would love to make!

Duchess of Edinburg is the one I'm having trouble warming up to, the leaves close to the flowers remind me of virus. CDB is one I took out after many years of putting up with all the green and only one or two flowers. Yes, I fertilized, I hard pruned, nothing worked with that one. I see from this thread others have had the same results with that one. Buyorsell, I cut Pope Paul way back, you should see the big fat shoots that are popping out of the old wood, WOW. Moonlight is full of flower buds so will enjoy the flowers and then I'm going to cut it back. I cut Ramona to the ground and Countess of Lovelace hard back and now they've got a lot of shoots coming from the root. After seeing the results of hard pruning I'm finding it easier to do it.

A......

My experience with Duchess of Edinburgh has been the same as yours Aftermidnight. I also have had few blooms on it and I am not impressed with it at all. It was purchased as Belle of Woking which I really wanted after seeing pictures of it but it became apparently obvious that it wasn't what I thought I had purchased after it bloomed.

I grow the Duchess with Multi Blue, which it crowds. I like it, especially when the blues show through the white. I'm hoping that in another year the Multi Blue will show up more.
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Wow, that is gorgeous.

Yes, after seeing results of hard pruning it sure is easier to do!

Bob, If my Duchess looked like yours I'd be singing a different tune. You've got a real beauty there.

A......

Ditto to what Aftermidnight says Bob. Just goes to show that what does well in one garden often doesn't do well in someone else's. Even so, I would much have preferred to have gotten the Belle of Woking that I originally ordered.

Bob..that is so purty!!..BOOHOO..I want doubles!!..Jeanne

Jeanne, do they not do well in Texas?

I sure hate USDA zones. Your Zone 8 is soooooo different than mine. Makes no sense. We have about 10 days a year over 80* and I bet you have 100.

It's so true that growing conditions make a huge difference. My climate is similar to buyorsell888 but a little warmer. We have many days over 80°, but few over 90°. Our nights remain cool. My tomato plants have been blooming for 3 weeks, but haven't set any fruit because that requires nighttime temps over 50° and we have only had one of those so far. I hard prune all my type II's after they finish blooming and get good rebloom later in the year.

I am under the impression that the doubles need a cooler zone?..Miguel and I have talked about this..I think he finally got a double on his Proteus this year..I just planted Chalcedony in hopes I can get doubles outta her!!..Wish me luck...Jeanne

Jeanne, some clematis will only flower double if they have old wood, some flower double on old and new wood, some require cool temps in the winter and old wood. I recommend Edith Malek's book on clematis "Simply Clematis" because she covers this topic in it. Prior to her book, I had not heard or seen this pointed out in any book on clematis.

My tomato plants are in the greenhouse, waiting for the soil to warm up!

Sounds like a good book to have Miguel!!..Thanks..Jeanne