I forgot to post the pictures:
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What an impressive sight! Especially considering many clematis won't do much blooming at all until their third year.

Congratulations on a job well-done.

Kate

What an impressive sight! Especially considering many clematis won't do much blooming at all until their third year.

Congratulations on a job well-done.

Kate

Wow! Amazing. Where did you purchase that piilu? Locally or online? I'm impressed! I hope mine looks like that one day :)

Thanks, I bought it at my local nursery but they special ordered it from Monrovia. So do either of you have any experience with double blooms?

I planted one last summer. So far, it just has the double blooms - nowhere near as many as your fabulous one! We'll see how it does for singles later....

Spectacular!

No experience with Piilu but you photo is wonderful. I would assume that clematis was a couple of years old when you got it and perhaps the change in soil is why it is not doubling yet? Or as I have read somewhere, if your in a warm climate it tends not to double but I see your in a zone 6 so did you have extreme heat early in the spring?

Julia

Was in my wish list for this year Asao & Piilu ~ got Asao ~ sigh (found out she fades fast in the sun)! Now I wish I got Pillu!

Ditto to all the lovely praises trully impressive, Melaroma!!!

Mine has always had double blooms

Thanks for all of the compliments! Ditas, mine is planted in a half shade garden that is bright through out the day but only gets about 3 hours of sun in the morning. I hear that of you plant Piilu in the sun her blooms tend to fade away as well.

Julia, my Piilu came in a 2 gallon container but it was really lush when I got it so I do think that it is a bit older. I'm hoping that next springs blooms will be double and that it just needs time to establish. Who knows maybe it will give me the double blooms in late summer instead. I doubt it though.

Julia, I forgt to answer your question: we had a really dry and warmer than usual winter. It only snowed twice in my area and the snow only stuck around for a few days. Maybe that had a factor on the single blooms?

I think the single blooms are very pretty. My Piilu has been a VERY slow grower and has yet to give me any flowers, so I would be thrilled with just a couple of those flowers on mine.

So I searched on the net and found that the piilu is suppose to bloom doubles in the Spring time in colder climates (I had a warm winter) and on old wood (I didn't prune mine). However, buyorsell888 just posted pictures of his piilu with double blooms and says that he hard prunes his so maybe it doesn't bloom exclusively on old wood? This is a tricky thing. I am going to blame the warm winter for my single blooms and hope that next spring I get the doubles. Either way I got beautiful blooms on my piilu this year, so I will quit my whinning ;)

I am with plantloverkat - Melaroma your Piilu is absolutely gorgeous in that 3-hr AM sun exposure! The color is so vivid ~ Alina's is a bit lighter. The only double I have is Josephine ~ I tend to prefer all my single petalled ones!!!