With Robert posting I guess I can't say it's a "girl thing". And maybe that would be wrong anyway, because when my Austin catalog arrived, I looked at it with my husband - he was oohing and aahing just like me. He was so impressed with the petal counts. But I would turn the next page and my heart would flutter and my breath would catch in my throat at the pure beauty of those flowers. Oh, to have a beautiful garden full of those roses! I could only dream of such a thing. That was this spring before I had planted my first rose. I only have Tamora - just a two month old baby. I think Jude the Obscure would be good in Florida, and he's so lovely. Abraham Darby is supposed to do well here but he's so big, and Molineaux is so petite and pretty. And I was all set to get the luscious Heritage on fortuniana but Nelson's didn't have it. Happy Child makes me happy when I look at her but don't know about her in Florida. I think in the fall when Chamblee's and others start shipping again I will set aside my fears and buy what I love, hoping for the best. I was a little upset though when I saw ugly blackspot on Tamora. I don't spray - yet. (The whole subject of spraying baffles me.) Hoping that she will buck up and get strong enough to resist it. As someone who loves English country fabrics with all those gorgeous cabbage roses, how could I not love David Austin's roses. If they weren't allowed here on this wonderful forum, I'd just have to be somewhere else - at least some of the time. Thanks all for being a welcoming place.

I bought a couple of small plants this weekend and the leaves look like a maple tree. I'm glad I didn't start them from seeds because I probably would have torn them out!

Late blooming clematis produce flowers on new growth so yes, climate could be a factor - if you have a very mild winter, growth starts earlier and flowers will appear earlier. And you would likely get the same results with a mild and early spring. Jackmanii is a particularly robust selection and always seems to start blooming early and over an extended period, one of the reasons it is so popular. I tend not to grow many of the early LFH's - I tend to prefer the species and the late blooming varieties - so I will let others make suggestions for ones you should consider :-)

Mine that I have in the house under grow lights seem to hold their leaves pretty well, but the ones I have outside almost never seem to have leaves on them, or not many. They do flower like crazy though. I'm not sure if it's the heat (I'd assume they're subjected to worse where they naturally grow), but they're not in direct sun so that may also be part of it. As the others had mentioned, a picture would help a lot. Check to make sure the caudex (trunk) isn't squishy at all. if it's firm then it's fine and probably just hasn't decided to grow leaves yet.