WOW!!!! Your Crystal Fountain is awesome. Good work.

Thanks ; )

Wow is right. You just addded another 'got to have' to my list!

Hal

Why isn't it everyone's cup of tea? Yours certainly seems beautiful and prolific to me. Does it have some problem others have complained about?

Lovely rebloom Jackie. A nice surprise for the end of summer. My Blue Light is in full bloom again after I cut it practically down to the ground in late July after most of the leaves browned out due to the heat.

Thank you Hal!

Ophelia thank you. I've read quite a few opinions of this Clematis and a lot of people don't care for the look of it. It's been described as a cross between a chrysanthemum and a clematis. That's why I've been putting off posting because as ridiculous as it may seem I kinda take it personally if someone doesn't like my plant! How silly, eh? So I figured for every one that doesn't like it, there may be one that does.

Thank you Miguel. I'm so jealous of your Blue Light! I had a total of ONE flower on mine this year. I'm expecting better next year. How about some more pictures of yours? I just love to look at them!

Wow..your Crystal Fountain is GORGEOUS~ !!..And has performed outstandingly for you!!..You just planted it this past Spring?..What size was it...Who cares what anyone thinks..as long as you love it that is all that matters..I like big and gaudy..show-offy type Clematis myself..those little bell ones do nothing for me....Thanks for sharing..Good to hear someone is having such luck with that one...Jeanne

Your wish is my command Jackie. Following is a picture of my Blue Light. It doesn't have half the blooms it normally has in the spring and no double centers since I cut it down to about a foot from the ground in late July to get rid of those ghastly browned out leaves from our relentlessly hot and dry summer days this year. The color is also washed out in the blooms since they have been open for over a week or so now.

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Here are a few from this spring.

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Thank you, thank you. It does my heart good to see them Miguel! You must've done the right thing because look at how healthy the foliage looks. You'd never guess it had crisped.

I was surprised today to find a bloom on my Belle of Woking. It's got about six buds and the one that is open is a double!. I've had it bloom late in the season before, but only singles. It's been a weird year.

I've got a bud on HF Young and my Multi-blue has a lot of flowers on it right now.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures Jackie and congrats on your double flower on Belle of Woking. Mine is also showing more signs of life with new branches coming out but no blooms. My HF Young and Ramona is also beginning to rebloom. HF Young, along with another purplish-blue type II that I have never really identified, were also very crispy and browned out so they too were chopped pretty close to the ground. When I did that, I also provided a new support for them since they were on an old square collapsible tomato cage that had seen better days. Now if we could only get some rain!!!!!

Nckvilledudes
Didn't know one could cut down a clem in the middle of summer if vine was looking skanky? And to have it come back for you great guns is a bonus, don't you think? This past summer, I had a Nelly Moser not looking so great, but it never occurred to me that I could just chop it and have it rebloom the same year. Hmmmmm. It finally revived by the end of the summer, but such a long wait for one crummy flower!!!! I'm sure it would have fared much better with a haircut. I'll remember that tip for next summer.

Debra, I have done it before for several viticellas after the first flush of blooms and then fertilized them well and kept them watered and had them put on a second flush almost as big as the initial one. Down here type IIs get rather ratty looking once it heats up past about 85 degrees or so. I have done this cut back on my HF Young and another unknown type II and had them rebloom also. I am seriously considering doing it to a multitude of my type IIIs next summer--hopefully it won't be as dry this summer.

Hi Miguel,

I guess I am getting confused here. Did the HF Young rebloom on the new wood? How does this happen?

Hal

That Crystal Fountain is really gorgeous! I have it ordered...is it May 2006 yet?! :)
Tanya

Hal, yes the HF Young did rebloom on new wood. I need to get some pictures of it and show its blooms this spring and now. I have this happen quite frequently on my type IIs. Sunset, which was supposed to be Margot Koster (type III) when I purchased it, was pruned as a type III one winter. The next spring it put out new growth and bloomed on it and that was when it was IDed as Sunset and not Margot Koster. My Blue Light bloomed, as shown above, on new wood. As has been said before, clematis don't read books and don't know they aren't suppose to bloom on new wood. Have you seen Bob's posting here where he shows how some of his type IIs rebloomed this season on new wood after cutting them back?

I am wondering if this may be another zone factor. Those in the higher zones, can get away with pruning type IIs in the same year because you have a longer growing season to support blooms...

Hal

O Jackie O...looks like you have another winner with Crystal Fountain...gorgeous!

Bloomers