Charlotte

I'm not really big on pinks in general, but after seeing your Ville De Lyon, I just might have to get me one. The color is so stunning.

I went through the slideshow and photobucket with my husband to show him what ours will look like SOMEDAY,
*sigh*.

Thanks for sharing with us.

I love every last one of your color combos! Absolutely stunning!

I can't believe how big your clemmies are! I'm starting to get little nervous on a few cultivars I've recently planted. I am hoping being z5 vs your z8 will keep them a little smaller. I've been gauging how big they will get according to COTW stats, but yours look a lot bigger then their estimated sizes. Outside of a few must haves, you've curbed my buying spree until I see how these grow for me. My pocketbook thanks you!

Why do you suppose the elderberry didn't work? They get pretty big & one would think that a shrub that size would be able to handle a clematis. I know elderberries can be cut to the ground every year & attain 10' in a season. Is it because it was cut down & the young growth not strong enough? From your pics, that doesn't look like what happened though. I'm trying to figure out what shrubs can handle a clematis. This has me stumped (no pun intended).

In your experience, as a generality, do you think the late flowering & viticellas make good companions? Would the viticellas overpower the lates? From your pics, the size of the lates look like they could definitely compete.

I have XRM on my wish list & not so sure anymore after seeing the size of that bugger! Holy toledo, how big is it? It looks bigger than a sweet autumn. I love the pairings with Emily Plater & Kermesina. It looks like the color matches exactly with Kermesina, yes? Does it bloom a long time? Would you ever plant 1 again?

Have you experienced a lot of weediness with the tangutica? If so, how far away from the plant are you seeing babies?

Sorry for all the ?'s! Your photos have been more than beautiful...they also have been very educational. Thank you.

The XRM does get very large if grown in full sun with lots of water. It is smaller than my SAC, but not by much. I have 3 of them. I just love the fragrance. I have one by the back door, one by the front door, and one along the sidewalk. That way I can enjoy the sweet fragrance when I am coming and going. The ones that are growing in part shade with tree roots are smaller, so location will affect it's size. I think the color combination with Kermensina is very good. The red color in Kermensina goes so well with XRM. Emilia Platter's color doesn't go that well with it. I just needed a place to put her and that was the only spot available at the time. I think a red, white, or purple would look better than a light blue. The XRM is a long bloomer, usually 8-10 weeks. I have heard from other gardeners that it doesn't do well in cold climates so it may not grow well for you at all. In our mild climate the clematis usually start leafing out in February and grow until late November.

Yes I think the late large flowering clematis look great with the viticella types. I haven't had any problems with the viticella types overpowering the late large flowered varieties. They both have the same pruning type with is a plus.

I have about 4 tanguticas and I have never had any weediness in my garden. I have only had 1 seedling show up. I don't know why. I have never had a seedling from my SAC or my serratifolia either. Both of those are supposed to seed like crazy. We do have very cool nights and maybe the seed doesn't ripen well. I also have my flower beds crammed full so there is little room for a seedling to grow, although I am always getting volunteers from my type 2 clematis. They are always popping up in my parking strips which are very inhospitable, go figure. The seed on tangutica's are very small so it may rot or blow away. The type 2 clematis seeds are very large so they may stay put and germinate.

Buyorsell, I have the same problem with some of my clematis growing next to large trees. My neighbor planted a redwood, Doug fir, blue spruce and a cedar next to our fence. They are now 25' old and huge. Their branches overhang the fence and block the sun and rain from my clematis. The clematis I grow on that fence never get very large. The grow ok, but never great. I wish they would cut them down, I really hate them. I don't think people should plant 200' tall trees in little city lots next to the neighbor's fence. I am letting some of the clematis vines grow up into the fir trees. I just want to see how high they will get. I have a viticella Blue Belle that is about 40' up into one of the Doug firs. If I stand back in the driveway I can see the blossoms way up there. I remember reading a clematis book and they had let a Etoille violet grow unpruned into a Doug fir and it was enormous and had thousands of blossoms. I don't know if Blue Belle would ever get that big with the Doug fir stealing all the water. Maybe that Doug fir with the Etoille violet was growing on the coast where it gets a lot more rain. We certainly don't get much rain here in the summer. I am off to go water again. Karen

That makes sense about the elderberry.

OOOOlala, I'm getting a XRM!!!!!! Thank you! According to COTW, it is hardy to z5. I think it is a MUST to try it, even if they are wrong. It is way too gorgeous to not! And speaking of COTW, you really ought to consider putting 1 of your pics of XRM on there! Your pics are 10x's better than what they have on there now!

That is excellent news about the tanguticas. They are the only clem available in yellow that I am aware of. The reading that I have done on them said they were weedy, maybe per location? I have mulch everywhere & wonder if that would help as well. I am going to give 1 of those a try too! I have a lot of type 2's & wonder if I'll get babies out of those? I didn't know that either.

Thanks Karen! You're awesome!