Huldine

Don't worry about shading the roots. Just water if it's dry.

Here is a link to photos

Here is a link that might be useful: Huldine

I agree Huldine is a great white clematis but just realize that it does tend to have a pink coloration on the backside midribs of its sepals. Another great true white clematis is campaniflora.

As Janet points out and I do too and have for many years now, clematis do not shade on their roots. They need a consistent supply of moisture. The shade and coolness of the soil will be due to the moisture. Realize also that the established plants you want to plant the clematis between will draw water and nutrients from the soil much more efficiently than the newly planted clematis so pay particular attention to keeping it watered well and fertilized appropriately.

Thank you for that info. I am glad to know about the shade not being necessary--that moisture is really the issue.

We haven't lived in this house for a growing season yet, so I can't speak from experience when it comes to moisture retention/drainage in front of that porch, but since I haven't planted any shrubs there yet, there won't be any established plants competing for moisture. I'm sure I'll put other stuff nearby, so I'll keep an eye on the watering.

I agree "Huldine" is such a joy in the gardens..I also love "John Huxtable"..any of the pruning group 3's..Jeanne

'Huldine' comes to mind for me also.

How about Henryi?

Henryi has been a bit of a dog in my garden. It is probably ten years old and two year old Venosa Violacea though isn't white has ten times as many flowers....

Being a type II clematis, Henryii can have wilt issues. Since the OP wanted an easy white that is why the suggestions have been type III whites which are less susceptible to wilt and give a first good experience with clematis.

Henryi never wilted for me just never grew much beyond a single stem with three flowers.

I cut it to the ground after finding this forum and reading your advice :) and it did much better. I cut it to the ground three or four more times and it still hasn't done much even though it is a huge improvement.

My favorite White Clematis is Candida. I have two of them, and they are just starting to open. I have about half a dozen open blooms and around 50 or so buds. I dug it up 3 years ago and moved to a trellis on my fence. In the spot where i dug it up, it came back from the roots. The original spot now has a vine that is twice as large as the Mama vine, which was moved.The blooms are gigantic, and remind me of a Water Lily, when they are partially open. Another beauty is Duchess Of Edinburg which is a double white

Only goes to show what works in one garden can be a dud in another. My Duchess of Edinburg is a wimp that has not responded to deep planting or pruning and gives me miserable results. It is one that is going to be removed from my garden.

Ms. Bateman is easy and white. I usually get two blooms out of it.

Gurnsey Cream/Creme.

I totally agree with Miguel with what grows well in one garden can be a dud in another. I have Henryi growing on an obleisk in my perennial garden and last year it produced a good amount of flowers and only being the 2nd year I had it! I love the color combination of the white petals with the burgandy/purple stamens in the middle, it is a very pretty flower. I'm interested to see what happens this summer as it's already leafing out and beginning to climb here in zone 5.

~Linda

You are right Janet. I can't believe I forgot about it. Alba Luxurians is a great white type III. Some people don't like the green edges that can sometimes occur in early spring but they tend to disappear when the weather warms. Personally I like the touch of green.

I don't have one, but it is near the top of my list.

The green is one of the reasons I want one. It's also one of the reasons I can't give up on Arctic Queen even though I doubt it will do well long term in my garden.

I planted Alba Luxurians late last year and can't say how well it does yet. I do like the green.

I agree that what works in one person's garden doesn't always work in another's.

I tend to only recommend based on my own experience though.

Hmmm. I posted a response to this earlier today but I don't see it here. Hopefully, this isn't a repeat.

I wanted to say thank you for all the suggestions. I haven't been able to find Huldine at my local nurseries or the big stores. In whites, they have only Ms. Bateman.

Will it be worth my while to order Huldine or Alba Luxurians (I like the idea of the green) in the mail--are they likely to be much more vigorous/healthy, or if there's not likely to be a lot of health difference, should I get the local plants?

Thanks!

Yes..... it is worth it to order what you really want. :)

Alba Luxurians with green.

{{gwi:583469}}

Nice photo!

I'm kind of a Clematis nut, also, and one of my favorite whites is 'Toki'.....huge flowers!!