Hi Brenda, Sorry, I've not check my GW mail; we are dealing with Harvey. I'll let you know when I get to back home and get the clematis postage, if you still want it. Betsy

Well, you may be a good candidate for the vile weed. My aunt (from Washington) was here last year when it flowered, and was admiring it. I sent her photos of it absolutely all over the woodland near the lake, and the areas around a creek. I think I convinced her it was evil (though it may not have been in her dry cold climate). I mentioned that fact to her (just in case). The other thing is that sometimes it smells sweet, other plants smell VILE and attract flies, it's rather variable. Hee, maybe it's a survival tactic though...there's more flies in the world than bees. If no one gets you cuttings, i can probably provide in spring. I don't think in my heat, trying to ship cuttings now would be good. And fall would be a bad time to root them. I'd rather send you an entire plant...but it's awfully hard to find a small one..maybe because they grow so fast.

I just bought my second one yesterday. I needed a replacement for another vine that did not return :( My current one will be in its 3rd year. So we will see how big she gets this fall. I grow it up/along my fence. It is lovely! This new second one will be grown up a trellis on my shed. I will need to add something along the roof line for it to grab on to as the trellis will just not be enough. They can get huge, just not sure how big up here in the north. In the south they grow and reseed like crazy. The best time to cut back is in the spring when you see new growth at the base. If you google it, you can get an idea of how enormous they can get. If you don’t have a fence, or anywhere to plant it, perhaps you could purchase an Arbor (not white) for it to grow up and over? What site that would be.... last fall

There are many varieties of Jasminum officinale, and two (at least) may be hardier than average. The clone that Woodlander's (in Aiken, S.C.) sells returned from the roots after -14F in my parent's garden in Spokane, WA.' 1990. That same clone returned from the roots after -9F years later in my own garden, also in Spokane. This clone tends to have one heavy June-July bloom and rarely anything after, and doesn't show the pink tinges in the buds that some of the others do. but the fragrance is strong! I haven't tried the one that Logee's (in CT) sells, but their picture of it looks like the Woodlander's clone. I have had less success (in the ground) with varieties from other sources, though they grow well in pots, overwintered in the garage. Clematis 'Sweet Summer Love' is a beautifully fragrant variety that supposedly is a hybrid between the sweet autumn clematis and Clematis viticella. To my nose, the fragrance is more like Clematis flammula, as is the foliage, and since both SSL and flammula start blooming in July, I have to wonder if the autumn one is really the parent!