I haven't responded earlier as am not in your zone and don't deal with those hot dry temps often in our summers. I'm not sure adding more plants to compete for water is a good idea. Some people add large rocks in front to give shade. Hopefully others will respond. As for companions do you want them to bloom at the same time? Do you want complimentary colors or contrasting colors? Do you want small blooms or large blooms? Do you want a different shape? Some blooms are more open than others. Answer those questions and then choose another group 3 clematis that is available in your area or if you don't mind waiting order online. You might also look through some of the photos on this section and on the gallery section to see what others have done for inspiration. Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Fever

I looked up Americana on the Hosta Library. It's a real beauty. As you say Karen, there are many, many more I'd like to get. Right now I have June, Risky Business, Summer Breeze and by summer I will have Americana in the same area. Hope the combo works out. The first thing I have to do before planting Americana is to cut down the half dead pine that's close by before it falls on my other hostas. The pines were here when we moved in and were planted to close together - they aren't doing to well. We are slowly replacing them with Sugar Maples. Marg

I'll share a little more on my experience last year. I gave companion planting a run, and this is what I found: I had no idea how huge my marigolds and nasturtiums were going to get in well tilled, fertilized soil. they were bush sized by the summer was over, and it made life difficult getting into my plants to harvest without serious pruning. It certainly was colorful and pretty - however other than having more pollinators than i could shake a stick at, i didn't see any literal effects of the companion method. pests were still there, disease still surfaced via bugs as well. can herbs such as basil and others affect tomato and pepper flavor...the jury is still out on that. my palate may not be olympic caliber, but i certainly couldn't tell any difference among plants that had or did not have companion planting. the best results i've heard have to do more with physicl benefits, such as lettuce growing early and getting some shade later on once the sun really heats up. I have heard that it works to plant radishes with carrots... the radishes mature super fast and when you pull them it creates great space for the carrots to grow into as they mature later. I understand that some people swear up and down by companion planting. i will likely always do it to some degree, but don't expect any miracles based solely on that. if nothing else, it often brings variety and color to your garden, which is always a bonus in my book. one last time: don't make the mistake of crowding, it's easy to do and a pain to deal with later on =) -Rathos

There's a lot of confusion over the terminology here. Merely planting one crop next to another isn't companion planting. Intercropping isn't the same as companion planting. Nor is successional sowing. Nor is catch cropping. jolj's example would count as catch cropping. The plants do not have an effect, real or imagined, on each other. intercropping, catch cropping and companion planting