I have all three Donna but am not in zone 5. Cassis was a small plant I purchased from a seller on ebay and is still growing out. Avant Garde flowered last year after being purchased in the spring and is going well now. Freckles was purchased several years ago and was planted in a pot since I thought it was only hardy to zone 7. It tends to bloom in the spring and fall but during the hot summers tends to brown out. Did yours survive last winter in your zone 5 garden? Was it in a pot or planted in the ground? If so, please participate in the COTW hardiness survey since you can provide some useful information about its hardiness which is in sharp contrast to what was thought about this plant's hardiness.

The itty bitty Cassis I got from a Park/Wayside sale died in the Summer after being potted. But I am not sure if the florida part of its makeup would survive Winter here anyway. The fact that it came up this Spring for you is encouraging. The pictures of its flowers are so lovely.

I didn't even dare to try Freckles because of the hardiness question.

I had an Avante Guard bought in a gallon pot repotted in a 2 gallon pot sunk into the ground, but noticed before our last 2 snowstorms in April when I was clearing off the tree leaves used to mulch the Fall planted (in a rush) clems & hostas, that I had not filled the AG pot completely with soil etc and that there was water standing on the surface.
Not thinking quickly enough to try to soak it up some with some dry soil I had in the shed, which may not have worked anyway, I mentally put it on my bad list of potential no show due to root rot.

When I did dig up the pot last week, after 4 days of rain, I found a large percentage of the roots were indeed rotten.
But the crown & some of the roots seemed to be ok, so I left the pot with most of the contents removed above ground in a summier spot to try to dry it out a bit and nurse back some life to it. Will water with root stimulator mixture when it is dry enough to accept more water. If a new stem(s) come up, I will keep it cut short & plant it in a different place after the rootball grows. I think it would have grown too tall where I had it anyway.

I have enough other clems that will flower that I am willing to sacrifice blooms on AG this year if I can get it to live at all.

Marie in ME

nckvilledudes....what is the cotw hardiness survey, and how do i participate?? cassis i just got this spring, but freckles and avante guarde i got last fall as dormant plants..i stuck them in the ground, watered, mulched with about 6" of fine mulch, and they both have green growth on them now..we did have an excellent winter as far as wintering plants..it was mild until january, but we got a good foot of snow before the cold temps set in..that helps insulate them also..but luck or weather, or what, mine lived..i only posted because i was wondering about their tendency to mildew, ( forgot to ask that)..but let me know about the hardiness survey..i have my receipts from last fall..thank you...donna

Donna, COTW is doing a survey on clematis in general and one of the things they are trying to collect is information about the hardiness of various clematis. You see there is no really good database about clematis hardiness. Most clematis have a general tag on them that say hardy from zones 4 to 9, but people like you and others I know are growing clematis that have traditionally not been thought to be hardy in your zone. I am linking below the page to the survey. You will have to register to participate but your experience with Freckles especially will be most informative.

By the way, Freckles and Avant Garde I have never had a problem with mildew on.

Here is a link that might be useful: COTW Survey