Hi Guys, First off, I am truly saddened by the closing of Chalk Hill. I have purchased quite a few Clematis from them, and always recieved good service from them. Out of my 50 or so Clematis I bet I have purchased 45 of them from private growers[Brushwood, Silver Star and Chalk Hill).And the other 5 from HD, or Lowes or Hy Vee Grocery store. What the heck does it matter where I purchase my plants? If I like it I will buy it, no matter where it is. I think this is the U.S. right? I've been observing these posts for awhile now and It occured to me that certain negative elements on these posts, remind me of my 9yr old son who creates negative situations to focus attention on himself. As I read earlier, there is probably very limited knowledge of Clematis, but just a need for attention. Kinda sad and silly but also kind of funny. Anyway, I to took advantage of the great prices at Chalk Hill and now have to find spots for 17 more of my friends. Have A Great Day! And stay positive!! Tracy

Great to know others of the fancies are doing well in z4. I am planning to add E Violette (my E Rose is going very well). I opted for Clare deLune over Huldine because I loved the ripply edges of CdL's petals, but will definitely keep Huldine in mind. Betty Corning is on my wish list too. Just not available for now. Then again, I gotta save something to get next summer! LOL TJ, so great to see another 'Treasure Stater' here. I love the look of Little Duckling (also called Piilu). I have high hopes for mine!

"Believe me, I have planned trips to pass by certain stores that I have wanted to visit in the past. I think however with Donahues I will settle for ordering the quart sized plants and growing them out myself." Hey, Miguel, a visit to MN in the early summer/mid summer is great, warm temps during the days, cooling off in the evenings. After living in St. Louis for 8 years I moved back to MN and was frequently heard to say "What a beautiful evening" that first year back. We also have a wonderful arboretum here. So, come on up! I miss the early springs of St. Louis as it doesn't really get springy and beautiful in MN until May. But, oh, those cool summer nights almost make up for the late spring. I visted Donahues last April during their spring open house and bought several gallon pots of clematis. Have also ordered from them via mail with good results. Bobbie

I'm a she (Babs is short for Barbara). I live on a farm, so I don't have photos of the whole garden, since it's spread out over various areas around the house and out buildings with at least a few clematis in most of the beds. Most of my beds are large, with mixed shrubs and perennials since almost half our year is winter, so I like having something that looks nice year round. I've been smitten with clematis, and grow them both into shrubs and onto various trellises. I'll pop up a few photos, including some of the less commonly seen ones that do really well for me. I'm partial to the summer bloomers (type 3, hard prune) since there's less going on in the garden then and they are really easy to grow. I also have several early spring bloomers (type 1, no pruning needed) and only a few type 2. Neither the type 1 or type 3 are likely to get clematis wilt and are prolific growers and bloomers for me. Seedheads of 'Stolwijk Gold' (prune 1) which blooms in May for me with steely blue flowers. On the right are a few vines of an unnamed pink bell that blooms midsummer. Here's the pink bell in bloom with just a few fading flowers of Avant Garde near the bottom. Both are relatively small but lovely, and the bumblebees love the bells. (prune 3) Mikelite (prune 3) blooms for a really long time for me, and is faster to start blooming. I love the flower color with the paler petal center and the big boss of stamens. HF Young is one of my few type 2's, and is relatively common. It is a really full bloomer, and the color varies some with the light it's seen in, looking more lavender in brighter light. My favorite dark purple, Viola, shares a large shrub with Betty Corning, both type 3. When I combine 2 or more clematis, I match pruning types to make it easy. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) that they grow on isn't a good choice since the branches are too flexible. I've done best using plants with stiff branches like lilacs and hydrangeas. My only problem growing clematis has been that the voles really like eating them, both summer and winter. After trying a lot of repellants, I've ended up planting them in circles of hardware cloth, wire mesh with 1/4" openings, and that seems to help. My Little Bas got eaten, so I've just replaced it (in a circle of wire mesh) with another. I like the way they look on the lacier types of H. paniculata. Here's the old one with Hydrangea paniculata Quickfire just starting to open buds. Finally, two of my earliest purchases that are still favorites, Ville de Lyon and Venosa Violacea. The left side of this bed is only a year or so old, and the clematis are still on temporary bamboo trellises. It runs parallel to our rural road, and so it's at least partly for the pleasure of those driving by. This is my largest bed and the clematis show up best if you get close to it; several of the photos above came from this bed. I don't have any whole bed photos when the clematis are in bloom, at least partly since they are planted on all sides, and so I couldn't take photos where many showed at once.