I was looking for the same thing the other day. Wider shots of gardens in general would be wonderful as they give me ideas and they show me what's possible.

If you Google 'growing clematis through trees and shrubs', you can check out various image shots of clems at a distance. Same with 'growing clematis on supports'.

FWIW, vining clematis will grow on anything they can climb/attach to easily......usually something with a small diameter - wire trellises, chicken wire, bamboo teepees, wire obelisks, shrub and tree branches and stems. Anything too thick you will need to help them, as they vine using their leaf petioles only. Just let your imagination be your guide.

Carolina, one of my biggest pet peeves is searching for plants and only seeing the flowers, and not the whole setting.

Great suggestion, gardengirl. I found a lot of pictures to give me ideas. We have a ton of trees, so I might try growing a Clematis under one of them. Thanks!

I'd still like to see pictures from those who post here. Wide shots only. :)

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2807707/clematis-vs-rose-the-epic-battle

This is a fabulous thread for you!

And this one is one of my dreams .. lol I've accepted that I'll never get this look but I sure love to look at this thread .

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1828427/clematis-garden-pics

Drooling! Thanks for those links Lillyfinch!

I hope these are wide enough. Many of mine are mixed into a shrub border, and so I need to get somewhat close to capture them without shrubs in the way. The first two are clematis growing right on shrubs.

C. Little Bas growing on Hydrangea paniculata

Fascination on Sunkist arborvitae

C. Star River (nonvining C. integrifolia hybrid) growing up the center of a rose obelisk.

Avant Garde starts on a smallish obelisk and then crawls onto nearby shrubs.

Stolwijk Gold (in seed) on an obelisk

Guernsey Cream growing into a lilac in far too much shade.

HF Young - there is an obelisk under the riot of color. This one blooms for a shorter time but really profuse while it's blooming.

Venosa Violacea climbing up a rose obelisk. I find these obelisks may require the clematis to be tucked in since the bars are farther apart, but I could add X's of black wire in the gaps.

This bed has a bunch of relatively new clematis and shows my somewhat wobbly temporary bamboo tripods. You can do the same general thing with long pieces of rebar and hose clamps, and it will be far more stable. These would be more stable if I had wired the top more solidly, but they were really intended to last just the one season.

Beautiful Babs!! Since you intend them only for one season what will you do for them this year?

I love the obelisk your venosa is on very much. I was thinking of ordering one for princess Kate but I'm worried my garden is getting cramped visually with trellis , bird houses , feeders ect.. Tough descision !!

rodriguez , beautiful clematis! Do you know it's name ?

Aluva I love your row of clematis as well!!

Front yard

Garden fencing attached to deck.

Chain link fence

Flat trellis

Peony hoop for c. integrifolia

Fencing

Obelisk

I have also started growing clematis through small trees/bushes.

Perennials · More Info

washes it out..

Perennials · More Info

This one was planted in '99.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Aluvaboy, the simplicity of your's is just stunning!

Lily, I hope later today I can sit here in peace and devour the pictures in your links.

SR, how do you over winter your plants? I had some in a pot a few years ago and they came back the next year after I left them out all winter, but didn't do very well. I can't remember why but I wasn't able to transplant them at the time.

Babs and Mn, again, just stunning!

Debra, I love how the pink Clematis rises to the top in all it's glory.

Two questions I can find online but I'd rather ask you all. I know C. prefer morning sun, right? What is the maximum sun your C. get, and does it ever get the hot afternoon sun, even for just an hour or so?

How does Clematis hold up to wind even though it's on a trellis? On the east side of the house I'd like to put some there, but it gets strong, hot wind from the south in the summer.

Most of my clematis are in full sun, morning and afternoon. Keep in mind that full sun in zone 4 is not as brutal as higher zones.

We had a severe storm with high winds last summer. It blew all the open blooms off the deck fencing plants. Most still had buds which opened later. The plants on the trellis, chain link fence and obelisks didn't appear to be affected by the wind.

Thanks for all the pics everyone! Keep them coming.

I posted a topic the other day regarding pruning of 2 different kinds of clematis here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/clematis-blue-light-and-city-of-lyon-ville-de-lyon-dsvw-vd~4553582

great info was given from Nhbabs and gardengal. Someone else just starting with Clem's may be interested in that info as well.

I used small gauge wire, like chicken wire, from Tractor Supply and attached it to my wood fence. I'll be planting today as we had big rain storm yesterday.

Most of my clematis get a long day of sun like mnwsgal's and the ones with at least 6-8 hours of sun bloom best where I am. I am perhaps a little bit south of her, but not by much so while my days can get fairly hot, my nights are always cool, at least 60's or below. I think having steadily moist but not soggy soil is important to clematis, so mine are all mulched and planted deep, 4"-6" unless they are type 1 from the Atragene group like the Stolwijk Gold above.

Oakley, you might want to add your zone and general location to your profile so that it posts automatically when you do a post on the gardening side of things (I don't think it will appear on the other parts of the forums.) It will help folks tailor comments and advice to your area. Here's how:

Go to Your Houzz in the upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone.

If you add info on your state or the nearest large city you will get even better information since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

That clematis is 18 years old....I also have a bright pink one...yes, my Mr. plants our clematis' in the sun too......personally I would plant 1/2 sun & 1/2 shade...because the sun reflects off the grey foundation on the very old one..then the one by the drive gets the reflection off the dark pavement which can't be good, but he's stubborn. Ha.

Mine get full Tennessee sun ! There is a portion of time in the evening where the fence provides some shade but it's not serious shade. This spring I planted 3 that get sun only til 2 and then shade from my house . I hope they bloom well ! But they still have sun from 7am til 2 so that's quite a bit

Let's see if my zone appears. (It did!)

Mnw, how many plants do you have at the obelisk? Did you plant them on the outside or inside? I've only used straight trellises before, but I'd like to copy your picture.

Also, in a couple of your pictures above the obelisk pic, what is the white flower with silvery leaves growing next to the clematis?

Lily, I bet we have the same hot sun. And humidity. If you can do it, so can I. lol. I think I'll be putting some near rose bushes and under trees where the limbs don't hant low. At least they'll get intermittent shade during the day.

The clematis on that obelisk are Warsaw Nike and Blue Angel. First Warsaw Nike blooms, then both bloom, then Blue Angel continues alone.

I have planted both inside and outside the obelisk. Planting inside means less area needing to be collared by chicken wire to protect from rabbits. In both cases occasionally a vine needs to be positioned. This bed contains two other obelisks which also have two on each. I like to use contrasting colors.

My uncle used chicken wire as a trellis exclusively. One year I used some chicken wire on an old wide slatted trellis. Removing vines from that left messy looking fragments so changed to the garden fencing. I also found that the give on chicken wire made it more difficult to pull off old vines compared to the more rigid garden fencing or concrete wire or wire trellis.

The white flower is a variety of lychnis coronia, Rose campion

Oh dear, I didn't even think about rabbits. Being in the country we have a lot of them. But they never ate the Clematis I grew previously.

I ordered 3 obelisk today. I didn't even think about chicken wire but it's something I need to look into, and where to put it.

I spent the past hour looking at Clematis online. :)

Clematis montana above

Closer view of same bed

Kaillean , I love your nelly moser bed! Does wallflower bloom all summer ? Is it the pink flower next to the clematis? Also your Montana is beautiful as well . Thanks for sharing your photos !

Lily finch it might be Reiman. The purple is darker than in the pic.

Lilyfinch: Yes. The bushy one on the right. Wallflower blooms it's head off all summer long for me. I love it. Can be a short lived perennial but worth it to me as it packs such a punch.

The Clematis Montana is gorgeous and would be perfect with all of my pink Roses. Since you're in Vancouver where I'm sure summers are much cooler than OK., I wonder if they'd do as well here/

Do you all ever order Clematis online? If so, what's your favorite store? I may order one or two online if my nursery doesn't carry what I want.

Most of my clematis have come via mail order since there's only one nursery in my area that carries them and only a few kinds per year; otherwise I have at least an hour's drive. I haven't bought any from big box stores since very early days since they are often mislabeled in my area, not a better price than independent nurseries I have bought at, and usually poorly cared for at my local big boxes.

I have bought clematis from Brushwood Nursery, Silver Star Vinery, Joy Creek Nursery, Hummingbird Farm, and Bluestone Nursery. There is a fair variety in what cultivars and species each nursery carries, and they supply different sizes. However, they all have supplied healthy plants that grew well in my garden and were true as far as ID.

Oakley, is 7 your zone? If so, Montana would be fine. I think it can tolerate quite a lot of heat, as long as it has cool roots. Can you water during really hot times? We occasionally get temps in high 80s which doesn't phase it in the slightest. I have two and water them only rarely during the hottest months.

You can also get a lovely pale pink Montana (Clematis montana rubens) which is beautiful is well. Blooms fade to an almost white.

Thanks for the links, Babs. I've ordered several plants online from nurseries, always with great success, but never Clematis.

Kaillean, yes, I'm zone 7, central OK, where the normal temps in summer is the high 90's and very humid. No problem with watering, unless I faint from the humidity. :)

Babs, how much growth is on the Clematis you've bought online?

I'm reading about Patio Clematis, sounds interesting!

Oakley(7),

Since you are reading about patio clematis, you will like the following pictures of my clematis in containers on my deck!

"How much growth is on the Clematis you've bought online?"

Some nurseries that send relatively small plants may have as much as a foot of vine on them. Larger plants are usually cut back severely which is an advantage to the plant in the long run since clematis that are cut back hard in spring tend to send out more stems. It is recommended that for the first couple of years you cut back clematis hard (along with deep planting) to get them to fill out well, regardless of usual pruning type.

Amazing, aluvaboy! Is that a patio Clematis? How many plants are in the pot? I like how the clump of blooms are hanging down, I have no idea how you did that.

Babs, the 35 yr. old Clematis I found the other day, should I cut it back? If so, how much? I have no idea what prune group it's in, or the name of the plant.

NHBabs, do you mean cut back new growth after planting? I ask because the two I have (blue light and city of Lyon) already have a foot or so of growth. 2 of the BL have 2 vines per plant each coming up, one does not. The CoL is one vine and it is really delicate. It wouldn't take much to damage it.

Thanks

Oakley(7),

It is Clematis Carnaby, about 5 years old. It is just one plant in the container. To create the cascading effect, I allow some of the new growth to cascade down the sides of the pot. Some growth latches on to the trellis as well. See the pictures of new growth coming after the winter slumber.

Oakley and CG, I usually plant them and cut back damaged vines, and then cut back hard before the next couple seasons in the ground, but I know other folks who cut back immediately after planting. I cut back all my type 3's annually, and mom nature often prunes all my clematis to the snow line. I don't fuss too much, but I do know that they will get bushier faster if they are cut back in their first couple of years.

Oakley, I would keep back the ivy, mulch to retain moisture, and most likely I would fertilize with rose food since your clematis had been overwhelmed by ivy for a long time.

Thanks for the step by step guide Aluv, I'm definitely going to try it this year.

Babs, I won't let the ivy get out of control. Why rose food? That's interesting because of what I have planted in front of the Ivy and Clematis.

This girl is hidden, but she's about 5 feet away from the ivy wall.

Beautiful roses Oakley!! What are their names?

Clematis are heavy feeders and enjoy the formulation of rose food :)

Thanks, but they're the easy Roses. Front row on both sides are Carpet Rose, which I'm in the process of whacking big time. I have a couple of Knock-Out's behind them. The peach Rose is a grandiflora but I can't remember it's name.

When do you feed the Clematis? I read they need it once a summer, but everyone's different.

Lily, if you have any recommendations on Clematis for me to order, I'm all ears. I want long bloomers, and of course easy to grow. I'll probably order around ten. I'm eyeing the white Montana which would look nice with all the pink I have.

Love the color of those roses!..

Hey Oakley!

Well the roses look great! I'd feed the clematis when u do the roses which for me is right about now . And again after the spring flush. I think you stop around August.

I'm not new to growing clematis but new to really investing time and money in them. So what I ordered this year gets great reviews and most should bloom a long time. I already have a handful of type 2s in the garden that I enjoy but bought on clearance so no real thoughts were put into them . Anyway , I have grown and loved Madame Julia correvon and comptess de Bouchard.

This year new but good reviews are : huldine, jolly good , bourbon, happy jack all from bluestone. Rootball smaller like a softball size but looking good already. Also they are having a sale now ! :)

mrs cholmondeley,- local

princess Kate , Margaret hunt , prince Charles from joy creek really nice size roots

i tend to love the type 3s. I love any plant that is vigorous and free flowering ! I grow type 2s but I always seem to get clematis wilt right around the time I'm over dragging my hose around ;)

i hope that helps you!! Can't wait to see what you do in the garden! :)

Thanks, Lily. After reading about Type 3 last night, I think I want to start with those, especially on the big trellis.

Oakley, type 3's are a good choice for starting. Rose food is because roses and clematis have similar needs, and especially since you are already growing roses, it makes it easier.

I have 5 plants ordered and more Rose food. Only problem is, the east side of the house where I moved the trellis gets way too much south wind for Clematis. Back to the drawing board to find another place for it.

What 5 did you pick ?

Sorry, I should have listed them.

2 Venosa Violacea, 2 Huldine, and 1 Wildfire.