flora_uk, I can still see ungerminated seeds delightedinco, I tried the Scotts EZ Seed too - it sometimes worked, and it's very convenient to use (I like the built-in spreader on the smaller containers - the gardening newbies this product is aimed at are not going to own seed spreaders or roto-tillers, don't know what kind of soil or fertilizer to use, and have no idea what 5 lbs. per 400 feet looks like when spread. But it is so expensive for what you get). I bought it only because Scotts used to have $5-off discounts on it. Pennington has a similar product as part of their Smart Seed line that's a bit cheaper (but not much), although I wonder why they claim much longer germination times than the Scotts product. There's also Scotts Patch Master which is cheaper and I haven't used yet. I think I'm going to try just regular seed, and watering more often (a real pain here - there's no outside garden hose faucets, so I either need to use big watering buckets or run a hose from an indoor faucet. I have a 50' coiled garden hose with a sink-faucet adapter at one end and a trigger sprayer at the other for that purpose). I have a bag of Vigoro Starter Fertilizer 20-27-5, and have applied quite a bit of new seeding soil (of several varieties depending on location) since the ground is mostly hard clay. I did my best to loosen it with a metal gardening rake before adding a new layer of topsoil. Any recommendations as to what type of grass I should use? I'm near Washington DC, which means both humid 100°F+ in the summer and subfreezing icy winters. The big-box stores around here seem to favor tall fescoe, which is also what the combination seed/mulch/fertilizer products use in this market. I like the bright green color, how fast it grows, and its tolerance for all sorts of bad weather, but not the thin straight grass blades that get matted down like cheap carpeting when walked on. The second most popular here seems to be the generically-labeled "sun and shade mix". The real nurseries have more variety to choose from but also higher prices. I don't want anything that goes dormant or turns yellow or brown in the winter. The side yard is in heavy shade due to closely-spaced houses and lots of old trees, but the backyard (which I'm more concerned about since that's the main socializing area) gets alot of sunlight. I also hear some people say I shouldn't even try to grow from seed during the hot summer. But I'd like to have a lawn by fall if possible, when I plan to have a new renter. I could plant sod - but it's inconvenient given how thirsty the stuff is when new (given the water situation I mentioned earlier) and hard to transport for someone with a small car and a bad back. Any ideas?

I would definately say that someone in your neighborhood has been spraying something. My SAC looks something like this, and I know someone was out in the alley with weed killer. It is all distorted and growing like crazy. They probably used something for dandelions. I get a dose of weed killers every year when the crop dusters go out to spray wheat for weeds. Even the smell drifting in will effect some plants. Redbud trees and purple hyacinth beans for instance. I think your plant will recover.

I doubt you killed your clematis, but you may have cracked the fragile stems at the base. Keep treating the roots like they are alive and you will probably get new shoots coming up. Best practice is to prune the clematis back hard before you plant leaving only about 6 inches of growth or taller so you have a few sets of leaves. There isn't a leader vine. Sweet Autumn grows fast, so keep watching it so you can try to guide the stems. I add bone meal the way Chalk Hill recommends, but it isn't required. I don't take out the supports that came in the nursery pot unless they fall off. I try to cause as little disruption to the roots as possible. I do take off the twist ties though and use my own. Tightly tying the vine to your support isn't good. I use velcro straps to hold the vines in place. It doesn't take long for the tendrils to grab on, so as soon as it does, the straps can be removed. What I try to do when planting a new clematis is plant it at an angle towards the support. That way the vines will already be growing in the right direction. To help it along, I might add a couple of lengths of thin bamboo on either side of the root mass and use these to help guide the vine. It also serves to protect the vine (somewhat) from dog feet. Where practical, I will use the velcro pieces to hold the bamboo to the support, but most of the time it can just rest on the support because the soil holds it in place.

I don't think you have anything wrong with your vine. Based on the leaf appearance, rampancy and seeding habits, it sounds like C. terniflora or Sweet Autumn clematis. Considered invasive in many parts of the east, it's a big, aggressively growing vine that benefits from a severe pruning (like down nearly to the ground) annually. The bleaching or discoloring of various sections of leaves and stems is likely due to more exterior vining tendrils simply wrapping around and strangling the others. I wouldn't worry about it. If you cut it back hard next spring and thereafter, I doubt you'll see this problem again.