I do not think anyone has enough experience with her - she is a new hybrid. I've ordered one from Koi Gardens. Should arrive in May... Hope we will share the pictures later this year.

Thanks for your reply. I know it's new but didn't realize just how new. How exciting. I just adore clematis. I haven't added to my collection in years. When I saw Rebecca, I just had to have her. I'm going to plant her near my Jackmanii. I love a red and purple combination. Hopefully they will bloom together. I will be sure to post photos. It's been a long time since I've posted on GardenWeb. It's good to be back.

Hey, I just noticed that you are from Maryland as well :o)
Please note that Rebecca is a group II Clematis while Jackmanii is a group III one. Might be difficult to prune them correctly if they will get tangled.
Also, I hope that Rebecca's pictures were not badly doctored to get that beautiful scarlet color....

You are so right alina about the group II and III. I will find another place for Rebecca. The Jackmanii is 7 yrs old and I had forgotten what group it was in. I don't know where my mind is lately. haha. Yes, I'm in Maryland - Montgomery Co. Wonderful weather we are having. I'm headed to Thanksgiving Farm tomorrow. Need to feed my addiction!

I am also in Montgomery Co :o) (Gaithersburg).
Good luck with your new Clematis! I might not get blooms on mine because it is going to be a small Donahue's baby. Please post the pictures of your Rebecca when she will bloom for you.

I saw a pic of Rebecca in some magazine or catalog too and thought "what a strong red". But I have a feeling it is not accurate picture. I google-imaged it and saw some purplish-red Rebecca versions as well.

Let us know if it really is red. That would be awesome.

I saw Rebecca today at Donahues Open House. It was a deep maroon red, almost but not quite a true red. Still very attractive. One I will consider for another time as had three others on my list to buy today, Avant Garde, Betty Corning, and Florida Sieboldii (pushing the zone on this one with Miguel's encouragement).

I purchased Rebeccca on Saturday. It is a Donahue clematis in a one gallon pot and it's blooming. It is not a scarlet red but more of deep pinkish red. It's very pretty but not the scarlet I was looking for. I have written to Donahue to see what they think. Perhaps this is what she is. mnwsgal, I would imagine that the bloom starts out a deep maroon red and then lightens a bit. Not sure. I will take a photo and post soon. Alina, hopefully your Rebecca will bloom soon and we can compare notes. I love Florida Sieboldii but have not tried it. Would love to hear how it does for you.

That is what I expected ;o) There is not such thing as a true red type II Clematis yet... It probably will be similar to Vino or Ruutel.
The post about Florida Sieboldii was not my post. I tried it and Viennetta 3 times. They do not survive winters. This is the first year I managed to overwinter Viennetta. I planted it close to the house foundation in the very protected area. I hope it will survive zone 4 winter for mnwsgal , but it will definitely need some extra protection there.

Sorry Alina, I knew it was mnwsgal that mentioned Florida Sieboldii. My post was confusing. I really need to proof-read my posts before hitting submit.

I tend to push the envelope with plants because you never know, right? Zone 4 may be hard for Florida Sieboldii. Good for you overwintering Viennetta ~ Definitely worth babying- such a beautiful flower. You must be thrilled!

The Rebecca I saw had two blooms, one very dark maroon and an older much lighter one.

Thanks for your note about your experience with Florida Sieboldii. I will put it in a pot and overwinter it in my unheated garage and take some cuttings to grow out another plant to try in the ground in a sheltered spot.

I love virtually every shade of red flowers, so I planted a lot of red Clematis last year. I hope I will be able to compare their blooms and report here. Maybe, not this summer because some of the plants are very small.

I remember Miguel's picture of three different viticella flowers. It was very interesting to see them next to each other.

Mnwsgal, Evison's web site says that Viennetta is hardy to -10C (14F if my calculations are correct :o)). My experience with FS and V confirms that. The young plants might be even more sensitive. Overwintering it in the garage is a good idea. Good luck with it!

Alina, don't you garden in pots on your balcony?? Perhaps I am getting you confused with someone else, but Sieboldii is hardy to zone 5 Michigan in the ground. I have a friend there that has had it growing for 4 years with only 2 inches of mulch added for winter protection and it has returned faithfully. She does say it is not a particularly vigorous and floriferous for her but that it easily survives her Michigan weather. It can be rather finicky for some people but there are those in zone 5 that do have success with it. I offered Mnwsgal some suggestions when she originally asked about trying to grow it that might help to maximize her chances with it in her zone 4 garden. I have had Viennetta overwinter for me in a pot with no issues as well in zone 7.

Miguel, I used to have my Clematis in containers. We bought our first home almost two years ago. My potted Clematis are moving to their permanent places in the garden gradually.

One Viennetta died in container. I kept the container close to the house wall and covered it with leaves. Only two (out of 20+) Clematis died.

Two FS died in the ground last year. Both were Donahue's babies. Again, almost all other Clematis survived. We did have hard frosts here during last two winters. Maybe, in Michigan the soil was covered with snow? Our winters are mostly snowless. I was very happy when I saw my planted last fall Viennetta sending shoots.

lvmygrdn,
I love a red and purple combination as well! I just ordered "Princess Diana", who has purple and red on the flower.
I just love Spring too!
Happy gardening

Alina, congrats on the move to a house. Now you have room for more clematis in the ground where they are better insulated during the winter and hot summers. Perhaps the issue was the size of the plants and when you planted them outside. Perhaps you should give FS another try if it is one that you like, grow it out in a pot and then plant it in the late winter/early spring so it has a good long time to get established in the garden well before winter arrives.

The friend in Michigan says that her snow cover comes and goes. Snow is a good insulator however but if it is not consistent, then that would be even worse since you would sometimes have the insulation and other times not.

Thanks Miguel! After 3 years of container gardening and 2 years of having a small "real" garden I've collected more than 60 Clematis... And 50+ Lilies, 10+ Peonies, 20+ Hostas... Should I continue? :o)

I was not clear enough: both FS were purchased in the spring and potted up. By the fall they had great roots. As for your Michigan friend - she's lucky! You said many times here: every garden is different. Maybe, she has a good microclimate in her garden.
BTW, all other Clematis I lost were Evison's Patio ones: Bourbon, Parisienne, Picardy, Versailles. Only Angelique survived. All of those were purchased in 2 Gallon pots and had great roots. I am not sure what caused the death of all of them: bad ancestry or being from the same commercial source. The potting medium was really strange - it looked like some kind of synthetic sand. It was really frustrating: I love the look of the Patio Clematis.

Definitely time for a house Alina with all those plants.

Yes, I definitely have said what works in some gardens may not work in others. My experience with FS was less than desirable in my climate. Every time it would go to bloom it would wilt and I would whack it back. It would come up again and get ready to bloom and it wilted back again. This happened for two years and since the plant was a decent sized one when it was purchased, I finally got sick of it and shovel pruned it out of my garden. More room to try other clematis is my motto if one doesn't work out for me! LOL

Agree. If the Viennetta will do this in my garden, I will not keep her either. If I will like it, I might get another FS.

Rebecca is my first clematis. Just got her so she's just a little thing. Had two blooms on it. Both were a dark purply red and not even close to what I would call scarlet. Can't tell you yet if the color will lighten as it ages. I'm curious now too.

kvenkat, I contacted Donahue clematis and they tell me there is no scarlet clematis at this time. As for Rebecca, the color does lighten as it ages but ages to a lighter pink-red. It is NOT as the tag shows or describes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rebecca

I got Rebecca too from Bluestone Perennials. She is such a tiny thing. I've already planted her in my garden. Can't wait to see how she does too. I have her paired with a John Cabot rose, a Henryi clem and a Franziska Maria clem.

I have Rebecca and have found her to be extremely floriferous, and truly red, I grow her with Gillian Blades which is white on my archway, I am not good at training them and usually end up with Clematis bushes..:-) However , I love this clematis, bought and grown in memory of my good friend Rebecca who died in 2008.

This post was edited by kari_flowers on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 0:13

Looks great Kari. Next spring change the netting you're using to support the vines. The gauge is too small for the leaf stems to twine through. A larger gauge wire would work well.

Here is a link that might be useful: link