Must be a "your zone will vary" thing. Here in Zone 5 we have no problem with it. We grow ours over a pergola to add to the shade. Other clematis will not grow fast enough to do that. The flowers all face up, though. But my daughter, whose room is over the pergola, has the view in the daytime and the scent at night (which she likes). We donÂt find the scent heavy: not like oriental lilies, for example. But the reactions to scents are so individual. Twice now it has been killed by rabbits gnawing the bark over the winter, and both times we went right out and bought another one. But itÂs not easy to find around here, and expensive too. Maybe you who want to get rid of it should put out little bunny placements and table settings to invite them to dineÂI wonder if thereÂs rabbit attractant you could spray on it, LOL.

The term clematis paniculata as used by Bluestone is incorrect. Sweet autumn clematis is clematis terniflora. Clematis paniculata is an evergreen clematis native to New Zealand. See link below. Clematis terniflora can be found at most nurseries and is something that if I could purchase locally, would do so over ordering mail order. Not all clones of terniflora are scented so it is better to purchase a plant in bloom to make sure that it will be fragrant. Terniflora is very vigorous in my garden and is a mad reseeder. Some people consider it to be a weed and invasive due to its seedy nature, while in other people's gardens it is not as seedy. Whether it would do well under maple trees is unproven since maples are notorious for sucking moisture and nutrients out of the soil. The shade they cast may also hinder the plant's ability to thrive. My best suggestion is to see if you can purchase an inexpensive plant and see how it does. You will have to provide the plant some support to get it to climb into the limbs of the tree since the plant won't be able to climb the trunk of an older established tree due to the diameter of the trunk. Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis paniculata

I also love SAC. I had it growing on a chain link fence. It did very well there for a 2 years. I had day lillies planted in front of it. It was the dog pen and I dont know if that had anything to do with it or not but it died off and I tried to plant it a few more times and it just would not grow. There is also a tree right by the fence so I dont know if that put off something in the ground that it did like either. It was so pretty while it lasted!

Clematis need enough moisture on a regular basis. Will this site provide it? Another possible issue I can think of it that several folks have commented on slugs and snails liking clematis that grow on the ground, so if you have many slugs, they might cause problems. SAC has a bit of a reputation for seeding around into other garden beds and wild areas if your growing season is long enough for the seed to ripen. If this is likely to be an issue for you, you might want to try something else. If none of these things are an issue for you, go ahead and try it. It certainly will grow large enough when it's old enough and provide ground cover for your area. Another one that is quite large and is happy sprawling on the ground, though not as common as SAC is Clematis Mrs. Robert Brydon which has small light purple flowers. She is another very large, very vigorous clematis. This post was edited by nhbabs on Sat, May 18, 13 at 19:11