Some clematis will bloom for quite a long time but no clematis is in bloom all season long. Quite a few of the integrifolias have long extended bloom times in my garden including integrifolia the species, integrifolia var. alba, Petit Faucon, Hanajima, Alionushka, Roguchi, and many others too numerous to list. Of these, Petit Faucon is by far the longest blooming integrifolia in my garden.

I have several type IIs that have a big spring flush and then bloom on and off with fewer blooms all season including Ramona and Blue Light. I can get others of the type IIs and IIIs to rebloom by cutting the plants back severely after the first flush, fertilizing and watering the plants well. How many might work this way for you will depend on how long your growing season is and when they initially come into bloom.

Although I have quite a lot of perennial beds, I only have a few Clematis and realized I have really not paid attention to the "vertical". My beautiful Canadian Explorer series climbing roses are finally going to get the boot. Too much work. Every one keeps reminding me of the part shade to full sun capability of the Clematis, so I finally decided to take the plunge.

I grow in zone 5 - Chicagoland, USA. So my perennial season is really from mid-April to late-September. October brings too much frost, so we have only fall Asters and Mums that hold up well to that. In March I get out and get gardens built and cleaned up, but rarely plant anything - - the Hostas are still in hibernation then and there's a great chance of snow. If I remember right we had snow April 1 this year. EEEK!

Anyway - thanks for your advice and please - Clematis lovers - continue to offer advice and opinions!!

Shawna

Shawna,

My 2 year old Venosa Violacea bloomed for 4 weeks.

Mary

I don't get a lot of rebloom on clematis in my garden and I don't grow very many type 2 clems, so I can't tell you anything much about them. Here are the ones that I grow (so far) that you might want to consider.

Betty Corning, a vigorous type 3 with pale bell-shaped flowers, comes into full bloom by mid-June around here and I do have some bloom on her now, but not a lot. In mid-July when she was still in heavy bloom, I cut her back because she was encroaching on my neighbor's yard. I fertilized her, but we went 5 straight weeks without rain this summer, so I am surprised to see any bloom at all now. Sorry, I don't have a July picture when she was pretty much covered in blooms, since unfortunately they were mostly facing my neighbors! This one is usually good for a solid six weeks of bloom here.

Another vigorous and long blooming clematis is Polish Spirit (type 3). It started blooming in mid-June and still has blooms on it. Here's a picture from mid-July, after a full month in bloom, & you can see that there are a lot of unopened buds at this time.

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BTW, PS doesn't cover herself completly in blooms at any time in the season for me like some of my other clems do, but it seems to continue to grow its stems for a long time & I get flowers along all the new growth for most of our season, right through until frost. Right now it has about 1/2 the bloom that you see in the picture, primarily at both ends & for whatever reason with one clump right in the center. Eventually it will slow down to just a flower here and there by late September.

Mme Julia Correvon (also viticella type 3) also bloomed for 4 weeks this year, but was cut back along with Betty Corning and has not shown any sign of rebloom so far. Without the cutback, I probably would have gotten at least a few more weeks of blooms from her, and I still have some hopes of getting some, if the weather holds.

Blue Angel (Blekitny Aniol), another early blooming type 3, which is only in its second year in my garden, put out a nice flush of blooms for the first time this season, and has recently put out some rebloom, perhaps 1/2 to a dozen blooms, about a month after being cut back & fertilzed. This is still a pretty small plant...so it will be awhile before I have some idea of its rebloom potential, but a good sign, reblooming in a drought.

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My 12 year old Jackmanii which blooms somewhat later than the others I mentioned also puts out a tiny bit of scattered rebloom off & on after its main flush, even without cutting it back, if I remember to fertilize it (the shrubs & tree to the left have gotten so big it's hard to reach). Here's a picture of it in full bloom. Believe me, it only looks like this for a few weeks, but I enjoy the rebloom, small as it is.

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I have never gotten any rebloom (so far) on any other Large Flowered type 3s, such as Huldine or Comtesse de Bouchard, or Hagley Hybrid. Hagley blooms early for me so you would think that it would be a possibility. The others are more mid-season, & if they tried to rebloom, frost would probably be a problem.

I do have a Late Large flowering clem that looks very similar to Jackmanii called Lady Betty Balfour. This one starts blooming after Jackmanii is finished, so this is one way to extend bloom time.

Duchess of Albany, a type 3 texensis variety, started blooming at the end of June and still has blooms on it right now, just about as many as it had at the beginning. This one is also pretty new for me & so far there has been a lot of vine & a few flowers, but they show up really well & the flowers seem to last a very long time. Again time will tell, but could be a real winner.
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I have one non-climber Clematis x durandii which also blooms a long time. It never has a lot of blooms at any time for me, but blooms from early June until frost. In cold weather the deep blue blooms tend to curl up and look somewhat like an up facing bell.

We have 5 varieties of C. tanguticas and a couple of them bloom from around July 1 to Oct 10th or so. Thousands and thousands of blooms. They form a 50 ft long privacy fence and are about 15 feet high.

In northern climates the viticellas will bloom for a long time if deadheaded. Ours bloom for about 2 1/2 months. Polish Spirit blooms the longest.

We have a Kermesina (sp?) that keeps on going from mid July through to mid September. We have a downward facing 'viticella-like' clematis that blooms for about 2 1/2 months. It looks sort of like Betty Corning but is the same blue as a 'bluebird' clematis. I've never been able to ID it but it goes and goes with hundreds of dainty blooms. It's 9 ft high or so and spreads about 15 feet.

My Daniel Deronda started blooming in April and just now is petering out but will bloom again in fall. It is, by far, my longest bloomer. That is without deadheading or cutting back mid bloom.

Juuli started later but is still blooming.

Leslie - those are INCREDIBLE pictures. Thank you for attaching them. Lady Betty Balfour sounds like one I should mix with my Jackmanii!

Alpiner - I have never heard of C. tanguticas. What is that variety and where do I get them? It sounds perfect for what I'm thinking of. I have a 6 foot fence about 40 foot long I'm trying to have as a back drop for tons of flowers. Will place a full sun perennial bed in front of it.

Let me know if you can what and where I can get C. tanguticas. Thank you very much!

Oh yeah - Happy Birthday buyorsell888!! My birthday is 8/8.

I've decided I love Clematis - thank you for all your help!

Shawna

The Chicago Botanic Garden trialed clematis a few years ago. Their results are interesting, but do not include the newer clems (or any of the Estonians).

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicago Botanic's clematis evaluation report

Thank you :) Happy Birthday in advance to you.

Interesting article entling. I did notice that it is 10 years old which may explain why they recommend sulfur as a way to treat clematis wilt. Haven't ever heard of that before. I also see that they recommended a viticella that I had never heard of before called viticella Grandiflora Sanguinea. COTW lists it but with no picture and very little info. I wonder where it was obtained to trial?

I agree that clematis jouiniana praecox is a great and often underutilized clematis. I love mine and have it growing along the ground and up into a tree formed variegated privet.

Duchess of Albany was a poor performer for them and Bill Bird grows it in Massachusetts and has tons of stems coming out of the ground. For me, it is a very free flowering variety.

Once again, just goes to show that clematis perform differently in different gardens and that experience in your own garden is the ultimate arbitor of its performance.

Would this be the viticella Grandiflora Sanguinea online:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/vines/clematis_viticella.html

Or is it just a plain viticella?

All of you must educate me to Clematis - - I am new to the Clematis game!

I am a garden and health writer focusing on the perennial garden, so I need to come up to speed on all this!

What's the best Clematis reference resource online in your opinions?

Thanks! Shawna

Well did find the clematis listed in Westphal's list of plants for sale in Germany and also several other European nurseries. Also found a picture that is not the greatest in the world, but a picture nonetheless. I can see why it may not be as available since it looks a lot like others in the viticella family, but I am still curious where it was found to trial in Chicago back in 1997 or so.

One I am still hoping to get into the US is Mary Rose. Been coveting her for years. Looks like purpurea plena elegans in form, but more of a greyish-purple in color.

Here is a link that might be useful: viticella Grandiflora Sanguinea

I think the article indicated that the clems in the trial were provided by Evison himself. So, he probably had it at his nursery & gave CBG a plant that he propagated from it. Viticella Grandiflora Sanguinea sure is a beauty. I'll have to check CBG's website to see if they still have it growing there somewhere.

That would make sense Entling since like I said previously I have never seen it offerred here in the US. Let us know if the plant is still in CBG's gardens. I would like to see a better picture of it than the ones I have found so far.

My Etoile Violette started blooming on June 12 (7-1/2 weeks ago). I was never able to really count the blooms, but it had dozens, certainly more than 50. It's down to about 18 now, and the foliage looks very good. Next week, I'll cut it back, give it some rose food and a good watering, and see if it's too late for an autumn rebloom.

Pat

Polish spirit is the longest blooming clematis in my garden. It gets very large and just keeps putting out new growth and blossoms all summer long. If you have lots of room this one is great. My best rebloomer for type II clematis is John Paul II. It had a large display of flowers in May and it is blooming like crazy again now. Good luck with your clematis.

Lots of mention about cutting back. I am a new Clematis grower. Exactly what does this mean? When (only after first bloom? What about at the end of the season?) and how much? I live in SC and will have mine growing in full sun.