Thanks Janet. I didn't even think of looking in the Toomey and Leeds book. I do love it but wish it were more Harry Potterish like and would automatically update with all the new cultivars out there! Everything I have seen shows the parentage of Duchess of Sutherland is unknown so the more important thing for me is whether it has viticella in its bloodline or not and how much viticella there is in its genetics. Pruning group doesn't really matter since a type II can be pruned as a type II or a III and not really be affected for the most part in most zones. If it does have viticella in its bloodline (and I would love to know how they determine this for clematis of unknown parentage), I wonder how diluted the amount of viticella a plant can have and still be considered a viticella? In other words, if a viticella is crossed with another type of clematis and gives rise to a new hybrid, and this new hybrid is crossed with another nonviticella, which gives rise to a new hybrid, ad naseum. At what point does the amount of viticella genetics stop being to the point of it being able to be called a viticella? Still no word yet from Richard at COTW. I will post when I hear anything.

The clematis that I have received from Jerome over at Koi Gardens were in 2 1/2 inch pots but they had much larger root systems than I've received in the same size pot from other vendors..the roots were grown so much out of the bottom of the pot that I had to take a pair of scissors to cut the pot away..thank God those black pots were thin and I could..I then tease apart the roots at the bottom and planted them about 2 inches deeper at a slight angle towards what I wanted them to grow on and put about half a handful of bonemeal in the hole...I've planted those baby clematis that have smaller root systems into my gardens this time of the year BUT...I am anal about daily sticking my finger in the soil to check the moisture and water as neccessary...it's so important that clematis stay moist during their acclimation period..I also hard prune all my pruning group 2's clematis the following year and then I treat them like pruning group 2's after that...I've found in doing so not only do they grow stronger root systems and get established but RARELY have I had a 2 to suffer from wilt....Hope this helps...Jeanne

The montanas, alpinas, and macropetalas, along with a few other types of clematis, are the clematis that fall into pruning class 1. The LFHs are the ones that fall into pruning class 2 and that is the group that HF Young falls into. The viticellas, the native US species, and a variety of other clematis fall into pruning group 3. In spite of all this classification, clematis don't read the articles that put them into the classification groups and to be quite honest, other than the differences between which specific cultivars are put into groups I and II, both these groups are generally ones that bloom on older wood that can be produced on last year's growth/or on wood produced during the current year's growth cycle and are generally pruned after blooming to control size or remove deadwood. They can also be pruned in late winter to remove deadwood. All that being said, most of the type IIs can be pruned in late winter and still have blooms later in the spring than if they are not pruned. In the warmer zones, the type IIs can also get rather ratty looking by midsummer. Pruning them back then and keeping them watered well during the heat of the summer will normally give rise to a second flush in the late summer or early fall. My HF Young has always been pruned back in the early winter and given me the original flush of blooms by mid spring and then pruned back in midsummer to give me a second flush of blooms almost as big as the initial spring flush in late summer/early fall.

Divamum, this clematis is no more difficult to grow than any other clematis. You never have posted exactly where you live and what gardening zone you are in. My experience with any of the type IIs in my zone 7a garden in NC is that they tend to brown out terribly during the heat of the summer. This is not an issue since all I have to do is cut them back severely, keep it well watered and fertilized, and the plant puts out new growth and I often get second flushes of growth in the fall. As to soil conditions, I have clay based soil in my garden. I amend the planting hole with some amendments like cow manure or compost or something like that. However I don't go overboard because when it does rain, the planting area will absorb water faster than the surrounding soil and the clematis will end up drowning since it sits in water. Clematis like moisture but they don't like to sit in water. Adding an organic mulch around the plant will assist in moisture retention and will break down over time adding organic matter to the soil. As to soil pH, the pH of the soil in my garden is acidic and I have never had to add lime to it to get the clematis to grow. Clematis liking limey or basic soil is an old wive's tale since many of the original species clematis found in England were found growing on limey/chalky soil and it was assumed they liked basic soils. As to pruning groups, all clematis the first year or two in the ground should be treated as type IIs. Cut them back to within a couple of inches of the ground in late winter or early spring. Doing so will help the plant concentrate on root development and also aids in forcing the plant to send up new shoots from the crown allowing for a thicker and more luxurious looking plant. After those first one or two years, treat the plant as a type II--meaning just remove deadwood in the early spring and prune it to keep it in bounds. However, don't forget if the plant browns out in the summer, you can always whack it back severely to get more blooms later in the spring. One additional tidbit, plant the clematis in the ground several inches deeper than it was in its original pot. This buries dormant nodes which will allow the plant to resurrect itself if it suffers wilt or is cut back by a rabbit, accidentally by a human with a wild weedeater, or something similar. As to climbing a wall, you can attach a trellis to the wall for it to climb on or you can construct a trellis that is freestanding to place in front of the wall. If you have a brick or rock wall, you can also purchase a mortar drill bit and lead anchors. Drill holes in the mortar with the drill bit, hammer in the lead anchors, and screw eye hook screws into the anchors. Thread stainless steel wire or something similar from one eye hook to the next and allow the clematis to climb the wire you have attached to the wall. Good luck!!