Blossom,

I have that one and it never blooms for me. The plant gets big but it never blooms. I have heard this from other clematis growers. My advice is - pick another one.

Katie

Blossom,

Mine died. I'm not sure why. Coulda been my fault or some critter that ate the roots! My sister had this same variety and hers died too! Anyway, have you considered 'Nelly Moser' or 'Bees Jubilee'? They are very beautiful, too and have somewhat similar colorations.

Dr Ruppel does fine in Zone 5. No problems blooming. I don't know if climate is the reason katie's does not bloom but he is a blooming fool in zone 5. I do give each of my clematis bonemeal each spring & Rose & Bloom after each flower flush so maybe that makes a difference also. My soil has a lot of clay in it & alkaline so I must fertilize or I would have weak flowering. Sorry I don't have any to trade though.

Thanks so much to all, who took time and posted a reply to my question. I thought I will give this one a try ! Thanks Bellarosa for letting me know of the nursery. I saw in mapquest that it is only 1.5 hrs drive from our place.

mamoo_Z5, Thanks for the encouraging experience.

Well, As bellarosa said, I will try to see if I can get this one in Menards or Home Depot.

Thanks,
Blossom123

Dr. Ruppel has always done well for me, the one I couldn't get to bloom no matter what I did was Comtesse de Bouchard. I never tried this one again. Is it possible to buy one that just turns out to be a lemon ? In other words try another one.

A......

Aftermidnight, I wish you lived close to me. I have a Comtesse that is over 15'high & 4' wide at the base & I am ready to get rid of her. I would give her to you but boy what a root system she would have. The only reason I have not removed her is because her flowers are so pretty but the whole plant is way out of control. Most likely I would guess that your Comtesse did not have a good root system to begin with. She is a quick grower as far as I know & a good bloomer. I had another Comtesse & I gave her to my daughter & she is still climbing & flowering.

My Dr. Ruppell has also been somewhat stingy, but this will be his third summer in a container for me. He is planted with a small rose in a container on my back deck. the fist summer, he didn't give up any blooms. Last summer he finally gave me a few blooms, very very pretty. I'm hoping that the good doctor finally gives up the booty this summer. The container is still in my garage due to the freezing temps we've been getting lately, and right now, he is going like gang-busters in the garage.

Here is one of the few blooms the doctor gave up last summer.

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Nice photo!

i have a dr ruppell and i am always amazed at how big and beautiful the blooms are. i find that his blooms hold color much better in the sun than nelly moser. a little prone to wilt though..

mamoo, My Comtesse de Bouchard did have a great root system when I finally dug it out, it was a huge plant, it was just very stingy with it's flowers. I'd be lucky if I got 3 or 4 blooms. I tried everything after about 4 years, I pruned hard, the next year I didn't prune at all, the next year I pruned lightly. I tried different ways of fertilizing, not fertilizing, the results were always the same, beautiful looking vine, very few flowers. I had it planted on the west facing side of our house. This is my only failure to date with Clematis. As I said before perhaps it just comes down to this particular plant being a lemon.

A......

Wonderful Photo. I saw one plant offered in Steins here. It is very tiny and it is $5. I am thinking, should I buy it or will I be able to get a cutting and root it !

Thanks for the photo.

For $5, I'd just buy it. I've never had any luck rooting my clematis, although some others have had various degrees of success. I think it would be much faster to pot it up into a larger pot with some really good soil.