I have Princess Dianna and it is a nice clematis but it has not been as vigorous a grower or flower producer as has my Duchess of Albany. Both are similar in color and shape with the Duchess of Albany being a lighter pink in color than Princess Di. Princess Dianna flowers with fewer flowers over a shorter time period, whereas Duchess of Albany flowers with a big show early on and then blooms sporadically over the summer. It also puts out a ton of vines from the ground whereas Princess Di has been less enthusiatic a grower and vine producer. Princess Dianna also has a habit of getting powdery mildew in my garden and the Duchess has not. These are my experiences with the two clematis and you may or may not have the same experience.

Here are some pictures showing Princess Dianna and Duchess of Albany.

Princess Di
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Duchess of Albany

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Princess Di has yet to put a stem up out of the ground this year even though she is in full sun at this time of year (she does have two or three stems ready to emerge from the ground though). The Duchess of Albany is up against my north wall and has already had tons of vines come up.

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Based on this I would say however that Princess Di is much better suited to container culture than Duchess of Albany is.

Thanks for you input. Both of your clematis vines are beautiful.

I'll let you know how the Princess Di does for me and post pictures. Although, I understand it takes a good three years for them to fully produce.

You are welcome luvvt18. Hopefully you won't have mildew problems with Princess Di. It seems to be hit or miss with mildew and clematis plants. Do show us pictures when she blooms!

Miguel..what beautiful pics!!..I planted both DOA and Princess Di last fall..the one stem on Princess Di got broken by the lawn guys..grrrrrr..but I spied new ones popping up just the other day...I am looking forward to see how they do in the coming years...Jeanne

I have had Princess Diana for three years in my garden in a west facing position with mid to late afternoon shade.

I have found no evidence of powdery mildew on any clematis ( must be climate) and she starts late in the spring for me but produces an abundance of stems and grows strongly to about 7ft.

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That is Josephine in the background.

Last year she failed to get pruned and did not produce quite so many flowers for me and definately no seeds.

Good luck with the seeds. Hope you have been following the threads on seed starting. They sure have helped me with more successes than I was having by 'winging' it.

Dana

Thanks Jeanne.

Lovely pictue Dana. Glad you have no mildew problems with any of your clematis. Do you have Rooguchi or Etoile Rose? Both of them have been real mildew magnets in my garden and quite a few other people have posted here with the same experience. Last year I did stumble across a product that helped prevent it on Rooguchi and quite a few others. Now if I can just remember to act preventatively this year instead of waiting until the problem appears!

No, I have neither of those clematis. Would they be hardy to zone 5?
I am often disappointed at the limited selection year after year. We always seem to have the same offering. Very seldom do we get something new!

It was only two years ago that we were offered Pamiat Serdsta and Durandii! That is why I took the opportunity (I am not shy) to collect so many seeds while in England. The varieties were astounding (yes I understand they have a better climate than I). I am still and will always be on the lookout for cirrhosa "Freckles" and florida "sieboldii"(neither of which are hardy to zone 5 but what is one more house plant?). We can get them through mail order but at $30 per!! plus shipping. Both places I have seen them are not from companies we have had great luck with. Generally they are out and send a replacement of Jackmanii or something equally common.
Dana

Dana, they are listed on the Chalk Hill website as being hardy in zone 5. Now we all know that there have been no definitive studies on exactly which clematis are hardy to which zones, but I know someone else who grows Etoile Rose in Canada (mildew magnet for her too) and being an integrifolia, I would feel pretty certain Rooguchi should be hardy for you.

I too would snatch up Florida Sieboldii if I ever found it locally... and have to probably bring it in for the winters.

You never know Joan. Florida Sieboldii is listed as only being hardy in zones 7 to 9 and best used as a conservatory plant in the Toomey and Leeds Encyclopedia and Tanya in Michigan zone 5 grows it quite successfully outside. Given enough mulch and the proper siting you might get it to survive outside.

Kinda got off topic earlier. Sorry... I do grow PD with no special protection in my zone 4b. It is facing East on my new fence, but does get some shade from a huge maple tree from my neighbors yard. It must be 5 or 6 years old now. It has never been very vigorous until last year. It had several new vines and grew to about 6 ft. Still not many flowers. I'm hoping this will be her leap year...even thought it should have happened years ago. No mildew on mine either.

bloomorelse ... maybe, your plant needs more light? ... mine is only a few years old, but is situated in full sun and had flowered it's head off last summer. This beauty is now one of my most favorite!

Terry

Good to know that yours took so long to really get going Joan. What is strange is that PD in my garden is in full sun whereas D of A is on a north wall and the limited sun there has never affected her blooming patterns or her vigorous growth. Of course, the milder weather in your neck of the woods may have some bearing on which of the two clematis do better in your garden.

Then again, Duchess of Albany is a cross between texensis and Star of India, both type III plants, whereas Princess Diana is a cross between texensis and Bees Jubilee, which is a type II. The type IIIs definitely perform better in my hot humid growing conditions. It seems that the type IIs tend to prefer those areas with less humidity and lower temps. compared to the long extended hot spells we have.

Terry, do you have D of A in your garden and if so, how do the two compare growth wise and in vigor?

I, too had a Florida Sieboldii last year and it doesn't look like it is coming up this year. I didn't know it was only good in Zones 7 to 9. Is this a late bloomer? I have it in a container on my balcony. I'm not giving up on it yet. We did have a very mild winter, so maybe there is hope for it.

luvvt18,
When growing plants in containers, their hardiness is raised by about 2 zones. I would not cold this winter very mild either. We had several really hard frost in February.
My container planted FS seems to survive this winter (with protection). I can see some sprouts.
I lost my VIENNETTA (close relative of FS) last winter. This time I was more careful protecting my containers with marginally hardy plants.
Do not give up of course. It is still too early... Good luck!

I would have to move it in order to give it more sun. Maybe I've just been too afraid to cut it back too much. It's always one of my last ones to wake up and am always afraid I've lost it. This year, I will give it a good hair cut. Maybe that'll give it the boost it needs.

Would you believe it is snowing here again. Calling for 2 to 4 cm only though. Don't know when I'll ever be able to get to my clematis to cut them back :(

We had a couple of inches of snow yesterday as well as freezing rain. Calling for more snow tonight.

On the bright side, my yellow crocus are up and flowering and the snowdrops too. I uncovered the garden at the side of the drive from about 2 feet of snow and found the snowdrops flowering! No light, buried in snow, no warmth and happily flowering.

Spring is coming, just not sure when. I keep looking at the clematis but the orchard comes first!.
Dana

Alina, where did you hear that about plants in containers having their hardiness ratings raised by 2 zones? I would have thought the opposite since in the winter they would be exposed to the colder temps. and wind and the rootballs would get colder that much faster. They would warm up faster in spring for sure, but in the winter they would be less protected than those in the ground since the ground would insulate them.

luvvt, the point that I was making is the although FS is only listed as hardy in zones 7 to 9 in the Toomey and Leeds Encyclopedia of Clematis, this only proves that the information out there leaves much to be desired as far as how hardy the various clematis are. Like I said, I know of at least one person in Michigan who grows it with no issues so its survival in your zone, even in a container, shouldn't be an issue. Don't give up on any clematis too fast. They tend to show up at the oddest times. I know that a few of the US native ones always come up late for me, including viorna and pitcheri, and I am always wondering if they survived each year. They always seem to show up when it suits their fancy.

Container plants are less hardy than in the ground.

Princess Di did mildew for me last year. All of my viticellas and integrifolias did too. Annoying.

"Terry, do you have D of A in your garden and if so, how do the two compare growth wise and in vigor?"

nckvilledudes, Yes I also have 'Duchess of Albany', this one is a very rapid and lush grower to about 10'. For me it flowers on the late side and sometimes has a bit of mildew. Where as 'Princess Diana' is a compact grower, I think mine had reached about 5' as it sprawls through a rose bush. The foliage is a darker green and of course those bloom just glow! Everyone who had seen it in my garden has loved it, and to be honest if I were to select only one clematis, this would be it ... or maybe, 'Kiri Te Kanawa' ... lol

BTW ... back to cold here after such a very long stretch of sunny mild temps, I have a hunch April is gonna be bad here in Alberta.

Terry

Interesting Terry. Sound like the genetics in the background of the two plants are definitely coming into play with our two differing experiences with D of A.

Although I have always said no more type IIs for me Kiri Te Kanawa is one that I have always lusted after--that and Franziska Marie. Must be those double purple blooms. Purple has always been my favorite color.

Yeah, know about those weather swings. Friday the high was 78 and today it was 45. I fear the same as far as weather here in NC.

in the winter they would be less protected than those in the ground since the ground would insulate them.

Miguel,
That is exactly what I meant. Sorry for the confusion. I've read many times on vendor's sites that "higher" zone is more northern zone, meaning lower number zone. For example, in this article.
I hope to see first flowers on my 'Kiri Te Kanawa' and 'Franziska Marie'. For some reason, I love double blossoms on Clematis.

10-4 Alina. Figured there has to be something going on there.

Be sure to post your pictures of Kiri Te Kanawa and Franziska Marie. Would love to see them!

By mail order, last spring I had received 'Kiri Te Kanawa' ... it had grown to about 4' and flowered freely, I was very pleased with the dark navy double blooms! Although, said to be very similar 'Franziska Marie' is on order for spring, will be interesting to see which one wins my vote as favorite.

Great to see newly developed double varieties that flower freely when hard pruned. A friend of mine has 'Blue Light' and this one does very well even in her zone 2 garden ... but, I'm not keen upon the faded and browned off blooms which cling to the plant.

Terry

Can't wait to see your pictures Terry.

I don't have that problem that you describe on your friend's Blue Light or sometimes known as Vanso. The outer sepals fall off leaving the central boss as an added attraction in my opinion.
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Love your Blue Light Miguel. Who is that in the last pic to the right.

Joan, that was Konigskind. Much too small of a plant for me so it has been evicted and I am now trying to get Montana 'Broughton Star' growing up that wall. Konigskind would be great for someone wanting a small clematis---would work well in a pot also.