Is yours planted deeply? If not, mound dirt or heavliy mulch so that the stem is about 3cm deeper in the soil than it was in the pot. This is because the top of the roots are the most sensitive part of the plant. It dislikes heat and frost. For added protection, you may want to plant something nearby to shade their fussy feet if you haven't done so already. I have tall phlox and peony around mine. Also, have you run a soil test? if not you may want to, but don't disturb Clemmy's feet when you do. You may want to view the link below. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis problems

Cute cute cute! And impressive coloring, given the lighting! :) *CG*

I confess to being completely baffled by this question. From my perspective, it's no contest. As Donna Karan once wrote about women and the statement they make to the world thru their fashion: "It all starts with the legs." When a woman with pretty legs puts on nylons, she transforms herself from an ordinary member of a rather dull species (homo sapiens) into an exotic creature from another planet. That's all it takes, and sorry girls, but nothing does it like nylons. Nothing captures light and sinuous shape like a leg in nylons. Thanks heavens, some young women are starting to figure this out. In contrast to those who are, a starlet in bare legs - especially in a period movie - looks positively ridiculous, and we see it all the time. As Matt Damon said in a movie recently (to a gal in sheer black nylons) "When you wear those, I'm completely defenseless." Why is it that European women understand this implicitly, yet American women seem so clueless? European women wouldn't be caught dead walking down the Champs Elysee in bare legs. If I see two women walking down the street, one with bare legs, one wearing nylons, there is NO question which one I'm watching. It's a statement about herself, her sexuality that render her one of those exotic creatures. It's that exotic quality - not nylons per se - that is so powerfully attractive, and nothing conveys that exoticism more definitively than a woman's legs in stockings.

If I wear a dress other than a casual sundress or denim skirt, I do wear some sort of hose, panty or otherwise. I always wear hose under dress pants, too. I don't like the bare-legged look, especially for business. When I'm in court, though, it's exactly like the WSJ article - all the older women (me included) wear hose of some sort under skirts and pants, and mostly all of the younger women have bare legs. Many of them look pretty, but they also look under-dressed and unprofessional to my older eyes. I don't get the thing about pantyhose being uncomfortable, either, except on the really hot, hazy days in the middle of summer. I can't stand the feeling of bare feet in dress shoes. My feet just sweat and stick or rub.