You may have to forego the fragrance :-) Clems that have the strongest fragrance - most have little to none - tend to be some of the species that grow into very large vines - armandii, terniflora, the montanas. Any of these will get too large for a rhody and easily overwhelm it. And other the terniflora (SAC), these take little, if any, pruning. Clematis crispa, a native US species, has a pleasant, light hawthorn scent and a pretty long bloom season but not the easiest to find.

I'd pick from one of the viticellas - very easy to grow, long bloom season and large enough to scramble up through a big rhody but not so large as to overwhelm it. And they are hard pruned in spring, so easy to keep in check to keep the rhody healthy.

My main concern with interplanting a rhody with a clem is the proximity of planting. Rhodies have a very dense but widespreading and shallow root system - just under the soil surface - that resents disturbance. And the clem would prefer a wide, deep and well-enriched planting hole so you will need to judge carefully how close to plant without damaging the rhody's roots. And rhodies like a nicely acidic soil, whereas the clem would prefer a more neutral soil condition -- you may need to be cautious about conflicting nutritional needs when it comes time to fertilize.

Thanks for the info gardengal. I have plugged along for years just barely gardening...basically a 'newbie'. Last summer I was bitten by the bug in a big way and have always loved clematis. I have a small yard and so I really appreciate your advice about clem sizes...I do have a montana and have witnessed first hand how big they can get! I will start looking at viticellas and definitely keep in mind the soil requirements.
Thanks!
Julie

Hi Gardengal,
Do you think that a vitacella, say Polish Spirit, might do well in a large pot at the base of my Rhodie? I could definitely put it in an even more protected spot in the winter or cover it. That would keep the Rhodie roots mostly undisturbed and allow for a different acidity for the clematis. If you think this could possibly work what size pot should I use? Thanks!
Julie

I wouldn't recommend most viticellas for growing in a container -- they are just too big and vigorous and with an equally impressive root system to tolerate that condition easily or without a lot of attention. But the very size that makes them not as suitable for container culture may work to your advantage. If the space lends itself, you can locate the planting area for the vine at a sufficient distance to prevent disturbance to roots of the rhody and still expect the vine to grow and scramble up the rhody for support. This may involve not pruning back the vine quite as hard as suggested after the period of establishment so that it produces a longer and mostly bare "trunk" (if you will) before the foliage topgrowth and flowers. I've done this myself with various other larger clematis that couldn't be planted that close to their larger, well-established supporting neighbors :-)

A photo detailing the situation would help, but somewhere around 3-5 feet or so from the base of the rhody would be about ideal. And this would eliminate most of the concerns about fertilizing conflicts as well.

Great! Thank you so much for your help. I have just the spot about 3 feet from the rhody. I ordered 4 more clematis last night...a Polish Spirit, 2 Carmencita's and a triternata rubromarginata. I can see myself becoming a clematis crazy person :)I have SO much to learn so thanks again gardengal.
Julie