Florida Sieboldii is notorious for not being hardy in your zone, unfortunately. She gives folks grief in zones warmer than yours too. Sorry to give you bad news so early into your venture with clems, but there are many, many, to choose from that will thrive in your garden. You might have better luck with the Montana, especially if she is sheltered but you never can tell until you try. Good luck. Kat

Thanks Kate for your help. I decided to go ahead a give away montana Mayleen after someone wrote it will live through the winter, but will not bloom because the vines will die back to the roots. I already potted it up and will give it to my friend who is coming up from Charlotte next week. There are so many choices with clematis. I plan to replace it will Maria Cornelia and Trikatrei, both small flowered type 3 clems.

I was wondering if I could pot up Florida Sieboldii and keep it in my house over the winter? Another possibility would be to keep in in the garage. How much light do they need? I am afaid if I kept it in the house it would get lots of bugs. Or should I just go ahead and give it to my friend from the south? Any thoughts are welcomed.
Thanks!

Clematis don't do well as houseplants.

I have a Florida Sieboldii that is in a large pot and keep it in my unheated garage for the winter. It was moved to a larger pot this spring which set it back but it is blooming now. No special care in the garage over the winter. I set all pots on pieces of wood to keep pots off cement floor.

Some people have had success planting this clematis in certain areas of their yards with micro-climates that allow it to survive in our colder zones. I may buy another plant and try that next year.

Have you seen 'Cassis'? It is a dark purple which looks like 'Florida Seiboldi' and is hardy to z:6. Cassis was a new purchase this spring and is potted in a matching pot. It is blooming now.

I also have a c. montana rubens that has been overwintered in my garage for several years. It survives but has very limited bloom for me so it will go south with family this fall.

Here is a link that might be useful: COW Cassis

Isn't C florida sieboldii white with purple stamens rather than dark purple all over? Miss Bateman is nearer in appearance imo.

I'm surprised to hear C. montana is iffy in z6. I think it might be worth trying at least. It's totally hardy here and considered one of the hardiest clematis in the entire family. It's actually recommended for exposed sites. I am not surprised it did not flourish in a garage. That implies it is in a pot. C montana is a huge plant. I have one which entirely covers my shed and has to be hacked back periodically. It is an entirely different beast from plants like C jackmanii et al.

But CFS is definitely tender.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis florida sieboldii.

I should have said that Cassis has a similar flower though the coloring is different, almost the opposite on my plant. My 'Cassis' has the pale purple outer petals with a very faint white and the center opened is white, more like the third flower on the COW site.

Yes, I know that c. montana is a huge plant and grows best in other zones. I tried it in a pot because being in z:4 I experiment with less hardy plants. Sometimes it works surprisingly well and sometimes the effort was just plain foolish but I'm in denial. Ah, well...

Thanks everyone for your helpful input. My friend is very excited to try raising montana Mayleen. I decided to try to over winter the tender florida Sieboldii in my garage. I've added close to 30 new clematis to my colection of 4 this year. Now, that is crazy!

I'm so glad you decided to keep Florida Sieboldii. I'd very much like to have this one, but am also in a colder zone than recommended for this one. I'd be interested in knowing if it survives in your garage, and blooms for you next year.

I've got Florida Seiboldii in the ground (2 of them actually) as well as Florida Flore Pleno. Each has survived, though not thrived as many of my other clematis have and bloom for me each year.

If I were you, I'd look into Clematis Vienetta, a supposedly hardier Sieboldii. Just a warning, its not an easy plant to find. (in fact if you find it available mail, order, please let me know). Its a sibling to Cassis, but much better looking.

Or alternately, look into Passiflora Incarnata. Similar look, but easily hardy enough for zone 5. (got these too)

~Chills

Chills, a few months ago I asked about the hardyness of Viennetta. On Evison's site you can read : fully winter hardy to -10C. Not enough for our zone 6. I desided to keep her in the garage this winter