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Sweet Autumn Clematis

stir_fryi SE Mich

5 years ago

We received this plant as a gift. I know nothing about clematis. The tag says height 30’!! I do not have any space for a vine that high. My question is, can I put it in the spot below in front of my house (full morning sun) Spot is only about a foot wide but it can grow up to 4 ft before it would be s problem. Does it only grow as tall as the trellis? How far away from the house should it be planted? Should it be cut down in the late fall?

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sherrygirl zone5 N il

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Here is one of my mature SA clematis. It’s growing on a chain link fence. Hard to tell from the photo but it’s covering about 12’ of fence. it gets pruned every spring to 6”.

Sherry

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Comments (10)

growgirl
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
It is a beautiful monster. Do yourself a favor and put it somewhere that you can give it plenty of space:)

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/prune-sweet-autumn-clematis-63260.html although I would not hard prune until early spring.
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GardenHo_MI_Z5
5 years ago
I just bought my second one yesterday. I needed a replacement for another vine that did not return :(

My current one will be in its 3rd year. So we will see how big she gets this fall. I grow it up/along my fence.

It is lovely!

This new second one will be grown up a trellis on my shed. I will need to add something along the roof line for it to grab on to as the trellis will just not be enough.

They can get huge, just not sure how big up here in the north. In the south they grow and reseed like crazy.

The best time to cut back is in the spring when you see new growth at the base.

If you google it, you can get an idea of how enormous they can get.

If you don’t have a fence, or anywhere to plant it, perhaps you could purchase an Arbor (not white) for it to grow up and over? What site that would be....

last fall
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I have been searching the web trying to identify a wild clematis in my yard and came across this thread. A thread that has been going for eight years. Tonight I have learned that there are several similar species and some are known by several names. Clematis terniflora has at least two synonyms:Clematis maximowicziana and Clematis paniculata. And at least three common names: Sweet Autumn Clematis, Sweet Autumn Virgin's Bower, Japanese Clematis. It is a native of Japan and in some areas is an invasive weed. In other areas it is loved like most on this thread love it. There several similar species called Sweet Autumn and virgin's bower. But, vary in number of leaflets water and light requirements. Some have no odor, some have complete flowers and some male and female flowers are on different plants. In western US the native Clematis ligusticifolia is very similar. Same rambunctious growth habit and similar scent. There are at least three cultivors of this species. One of them is naturalized here in Missouri. I am now searching to determine which I have.
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Hi Brenda, Sorry, I've not check my GW mail; we are dealing with Harvey. I'll let you know when I get to back home and get the clematis postage, if you still want it. Betsy
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It won't grow up the chimney without help :-) Clematis are true viners and need something small/narrow that they can wind around to help support themselves, so unless you have netting or a trellis in place, you don't need to worry about it climbing higher than you can reach. I grew SAC for years in my old garden but cut it back each winter to a manageable size.......just to the top of an old iron screen that was its major support. During the growing season it would expand exponentially, consuming a lot of fence, a large deciduous shrub and climbing into a nearby apple tree. Once cut back, it was quite simple to remove the excess vinage. btw, the vine is incorrectly identified as Clematis paniculata in the above link. SAC is correctly Clematis terniflora. C. paniculata is a very tender (not winter hardy) species that is seldom seen outside of its native NZ - C. terniflora is Asian in origin. I have a tendency to be very skeptical of information provided by any website that cannot correctly identify the plant it is referring to...........
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I planted two on my balcony last summer against a trellis (for a privacy screen). But they died during the harsh winter here (zone 6). I had three more that I ordered in the fall and which were in smaller pots and kept closer to the balcony interior wall. They survived and are doing well now. Not sure this is of any help as i can't explain what happened. Still trying to figure it out. (Another clematis in a larger pot -- that I've had for about 5 years and which was against the interior wall also died this winter.)
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laceyvail 6A, WV
5 years ago
It's EXTREMELY invasive here, has escaped into the wild and spreads like crazy.
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
5 years ago
I don’t know how much of an issue it would be as far as invasive potential where you are. Here it doesn’t have time to ripen seed after bloom, so it isn’t an issue at all. It can be hard pruned right after bloom if needed so that seeds don’t have the opportunity to ripen. But it does need a large support of some kind to spread across. Perhaps add some large mesh wire fencing to the deck rail and let it fill that space along the railing? It won’t fit between the window and door(?) in the photo above.
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
5 years ago
I am in Ontario and I love this clematis. By coincidence my only specimen,,,about 5 years at least in the ground seems to have not survived the winter...disappointing. (I have never seen any SAC off spring in the time I had it).
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buyorsell888
5 years ago
yes, it grows to 20-30 feet.....no, it won't respect the height of your trellis. No, I would not plant it in that spot. It grows that big in a single season once mature.
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
5 years ago
(I think I remember seeing this photo last season 'Sherry'?)

Absolutely stunning.
sherrygirl zone5 N il
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes, Rouge, you are right! It’s a beast already this season!

Sherry
0
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
5 years ago
It’s a beast already this season!

I am jealous as my established one has apparently gone to plant heaven. (I gotta check more carefully today...I cant believe it left me for good).
0

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