Beware of what you may read :-) While roses and clematis are often a great pairing, it will depend heavily on exactly what rose you may want to pair with what clematis! Depending on the vine chosen, even ONE clematis might be too much, let alone 3!!

Besides the future compatibility of the two different plants with regards to size and vigor, I pair by colors, generally selecting from opposing sides of the color wheel - blues and purples with yellows, peaches and apricots and whites with reds. To me, that offers the best visual contrast. I don't do pinks at all - a personal thing - but whites, blues and purples work here also, as would a complimentary or contrasting pink.

And let me offer some very personal advice...........until you become more familiar with clems, I'd stick with pruning group 2 vines for any pairings, primarily for their more modest size and pruning requirements. And start with only one clem per rose :-))

I too am on the .must have clematis bandwagon .

But my plan is to plant them behind a shorter rose for ease of pruning.

I just put together this pairing this year and it seems promising. Both plants are still young: clematis Olympia and Crown Princess Margareta rose. I have another blue clematis, First Lady paired with a Souvenir de Malmaison rose climber which I'm looking forward to see next year (no blooms yet)

Ana that's a beautiful combination!

I don’t like to see plants fighting, especially fights that are hard for roses to win, which is why I keep my clematis away from roses. The only rose player I allow to enter the match is Teasing Georgia, and she seems to coexist with Dr. Rupple just fine.

I have to admit, I do let my roses fight with each other all the time by planting them less than 2 feet apart😂

Claire

I like the apricot roses with blue or purple clems. Flowers, those are stunning and I like the Hagley Hybrid with John Davis. The Multiblue reminds me of Crystal Fountain.

I thought this one looked weird, almost Martian, but the blooms were so big and the centers looks spikey but were so soft. The blooms went through interesting changes.

My interest in clems really took off a few years ago. It's too early to say how roses do with clems growing near them or on them but I share a concern that the clems will overwhelm the roses and shade them too much. I've had a mystery clem growing in Maggie for many years. It's a large flowered type 2 and never has threatened to overwhelm the plant.

I thought it was Nelly Moser but now think it could be Dr. Ruppel. This clem mostly stays pretty low. It can be mostly pink shades but this year was quite purpley.

I planted Mme. Julia Correvon and Betty Corning on the same large arbor with wire fencing attached to it. I planted rose Polka a little further out from them but on the same arbor. So far the clems like the wire fencing so much they are staying on that, not climbing on Polka.

Negritjanka with Traviata

Arabella and Wise Portia

Rooguchi with Ballerina. I do think Rooguchi shaded Ballerina too much.

Venosa Violaceae with William Morris

Princess Diana with Allister Stella Grey...Diana is pretty big now and shading roses in that bed a bit much.

Erasmus, your first pic is such a beautiful soft color. I bet your mystery clem is Dr. Ruppel. I've read he grows well in the shade. Absolutely love your Mme Julia, Betty Corning and Polka combo. Betty is overwintering in the garage because I wasn't able to get her in the ground. At the Rosarium, she is quite large. Negritjanka with Traviata is stunning! I love the unexpected combination. I planted Arabella as a ground cover under Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas. Big mistake! Arabella pulls the canes down and flattens the hydrangea out. It's pretty at the beginning of the season, but Arabella gets aggressive as the season wears on. LOVE Rooguchi and Ballerina. Both vigorous enough to stand up to one another. I might copy that one! Your last two are my favorites. VV is such a standout! Princess Diana is perfect with Allister Stella Grey. What a gorgeous bunch of clematis and roses you grow!!

Wow I cannot believe how gorgeous the photos on this thread are. How long would you all say it takes a clem to reach maturity? Mine are still so wimpy.

Magpie in my yard most need a solid four years to really shine.

Okay, my oldest ones are only 2. So they need some time, that's good to know. My 2nd year ones got quite tall this year but still aren't filled out by any sense of the imagination. And they didn't bloom very well eithereithereither

Thank you, flowers. I went overboard buying them several years ago due to the time it takes for them to mature. I wanted to get started. I planted Duchess of Albany last year and it hasn't bloomed at all yet. It grew well. Princess Diana did the same thing when planted. So some of them put their energy into getting established before blooming. I try to root cuttings of many of mine so that if the parent plant dies I can try again in another location. The thing I'm most surprised about with clems is that they are not as finicky about water as I expected. I do water most of mine but they seem tougher than I thought.

Thank you Sultry :) I should mention that Olympia (in the Boulevard clematis series) seems to bloom non stop in the summer. Lovely photos in this thread. Very tempted to try Diana, it looks stunning in your photo, Erasmus

Thank you, Ana. Usually Princess Diana's flowers face upwards.

What gorgeus combinations! I royally flunked with clematis this year. I planted 5 and all died except one ot two. I am

curious if the two i think that are alive will come back in the spring.

Lala, I lost 3 in the last year as well and I just don't know why 🤷🏽‍♀️

I too find clematis difficult here. Some have petered out. Others attacked by critters. I think in general it is too hot here. I may have overwatered and rotted some too because I was worried about the heat.

I was a member years ago of a clematis society run by Edith Malek who grew wonderful clematis in California. She could do it, but I appear to be lacking.

For those of you who feel that you have lost a clematis, give it a year or two to see if they come back. Sometimes the roots are still alive and they come back the next season. In my current gardens I have far too many voles and have to plant clematis in cylinders of wire or plastic mesh, or they get eaten.

Where I have combined roses and clematis in the garden, I plant them in separate holes a few feet apart and and provide separate support for the clematis. Getting size and bloom timing right can be difficult. I had Prince Charles clematis planted near Zephirine Drouhin rose, and they bloomed at the same time some years but did not other years.

New Dawn

Awww! I'm such a sucker for these soft colors combined. Beautiful, Holly!