niobe is known to be a small short clematis, i think its max height is 6-8 feet. i have a 3-year old niobe and it hasn't reached beyond 4 feet yet. also you might want to try a raymond evison patio clematis. i believe angelique is one of them. they can be more expensive, but were bred to be small in stature. Here is a link that might be useful: raymond evison clematis

This is a post on a plant that really doesn't have an appropriate forum. It's a highland tropical plant, so this is as close as it gets. I'm curious if anyone has experience with this plant or any of its close relatives. I also have a couple rooted cuttings that need homes. In the Andes (I'm not sure exactly where they extend to), there are a group of Calceolarias that are termed "vining". They are large plants, and "climb" by sending shoots that I assume rely on the support of other plants. They don't twine, send out tendrils, etc. As far as I'm aware, all are characterized by large furry perfoliate leaves and huge (for a Calceolaria) yellow flowers. Among this group of closely related species are Calceolaria perfoliata, tomentosa, calycina, pavonii, probably others as well. Here are descriptions of a couple species: Calceolaria calycina (Annie's Annuals): http://www.anniesannuals.com/plt_lst/lists/general/lst.gen.asp?prodid=2784 Calceolaria tomentosa (Ebay vendor Strange Wonderful Things): http://www.strangewonderfulthings.com/158.htm (link repeated at bottom) Calceolaria pavonii (Roseland House, UK): http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk/shrubs/calceolaria%20pavoni.htm I bought a plant labeled Calceolaria perfoliata? (the question mark was on the tag) at the big Spring sale at the San Francisco Botanical Garden (Strybing). Nobody working a the sale was familiar with the plant. By the time I got home a couple pieces of the brittle plant had broken off in transit. It looked like this: I soon put it in a 2 gallon pot, and placed it alongside a fence that gets mostly shade, some morning sun. By October it had grown considerably taller, and had cleared the fence. Here's one "vine": Most reports have these blooming in the Fall. Mine never did. I consulted one of the growers of one of the other species, and the conclusion was that it would more likely bloom if planted in the ground. I didn't put it in the ground, but I'm piling soil around the pot so the roots can grow out. I expect this will have a similar effect once the plant roots out a bit. So I'm curious if others have any experience with any of these vining Calceolarias and suggestions as to how to get blooms. I also have a couple cuttings I need to find homes for, as soon as possible. These are for trade or postage, I don't really care too much. I'm more interested in finding a good home for them. As these are high elevation Andean plants (most reports seem to be from 2500 m or higher), they will likely like a cool, frost-free or nearly frost free environment. Combine this with a long growing season and it limits things a bit. I think ideally they would go to Sunset zones 15-17 or 23-24, or possibly to live outside in the Summer in Northwestern or possibly Northern climates. I doubt they would survive in warm summers (nights significantly above 60 or days above 80). I think they might do better inside than outside in such climates (which admittedly is most of the country). I think these guys should take off in bigger pots or in the ground when warm enough. They are very floppy and probably brittle and might be tricky to ship. I've potted up #1 to stay here, so the ones I have are #2 and #3. These are odd plants. It's sort of like growing a big piece of felt. Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures and description of a related Calceolaria

Beware New Dawn! Beautiful but VERY vigorous and those thorns are HUGE and SHARP!! We eventually removed ours after several years of trying to control it by swagging it along chains. I think the only suitable way to grow that one is to grow it along a 3-4' tall fence or other structure that it can be tied to and where you have easy access from both sides to prune it and maintain it. Like most climbing roses it blooms best on lateral growth from horizontal canes - that means most of the flowers will be on top of the arbour - and you'll soon have a heavy weight of canes on the top of the arbour. We were concerned that the weight would eventually be too heavy for the arbour to support! A beautiful plant but one that needs the right home if it is to be a part of the garden in the longterm! Lateral growths that flower: In flower:

Wow, sounds like you have your work cut out for you. With it so crowded and tangled, could you run something overhead so that once you got a stem free of the bunch, you drop a line down to it? I use 10' rebar wired together to make an arbor of sorts. Florida weave for the first 5' in height. Drop lines above that. Works for me. Its probably too late for you now but I'm using a straw mulching method this yr. that so far, has worked very well. At first I coughed on the price but in the big picture, has turned out to be very cheap. Rather than scattering the straw, it was laid down in blocks or flakes, a couple inches thick from the bale. Placed tightly to each other, covering everything except the spot for your plant where you leave that block out. I've read that some worry of suffocation but I've got some very robust plants that disagree :-) A benefit that I hadn't counted on, is that the mat is so sturdy once in place and watered in, there has been no time that I couldn't get in the garden, no matter how much rain. Kinda handy this yr. It doesn't blow away but I would think that in places of high fire risk, you might want to keep it a least suface moist for a while until it sets itself well to become a uniform mat. The first several trips tending the garden require more sure footedness than normal but the paths reveal themselves in short order. Good luck with your jungle.