I was told the varieties that are of the Florida's heritage aren't hardy in zones below 7??...Colder zones are wintering them in their greenhouses??..Wait to see what people in colder zones say to this...I am growing them outside now for 3 years in my zone 8B...Jeanne

Don't know specifically about Viennetta but Clematis florida Sieboldii is only rated to zone 7 in the Toomey and Leeds Encyclodpedia and I know of people in Michigan whose plants have surivived in their zones planted in the ground. Looks like you can tell us next year about Viennetta cnetter. I would recommend heavy mulching of it this winter once it goes dormant to help protect it.

Another option that I have used for brugmansias in my garden is that after the plant has been zapped by the first frost, I cut the canes back to within a couple of inches of the ground, mulch them well with shredded leaves, and then fill a large pot with leaves and invert it over the area where the plant is. I also place bricks on top of the pot to prevent it from blowing over. Something along these lines would help insulate the plant and its roots from the cold. Something to consider for your Viennetta!

I'll mulch it very very well. The inverted pot trick is very doable at that location.

It's kind of strange where I live. It gets quite cold, but usually doesn't stay cold so the ground doesn't get too cold. I can't grow peach trees, but I have things like salvia Patens (zone 8) coming back.
If the top of Viennetta can die right down and it'll still come back I think I may have a chance, unless we get some sustained cold this winter so that the ground freezes hard.

If I lose Viennetta, Cezanne goes in it's place. :-)

If planted up against the warm foundation of your home, and mulched for winter, then I'd say this one has a chance of making it through winter. If I can find it available, I'd even give it a try in my cold zone 3 ... heck, that's the fun of gardening!

BTW ... 'Cezanne' is one of my most favorite of all clematis!

Terry

Just wanted to bring this old post up to say that my Vienetta survived an unusually cold winter that killed my glads and salvia Patens. It's has about 4 vines coming out of the ground and a least one is 4 feet long already. This is pretty good since our growing season is short and starts late.

My Cezanne survived the winter in a pot buried to its rim and is now about 3 feet tall, very bushy, and loaded with buds. It's in a permanent location now.

I was bad and bought Bourbon, Marie Louise Jensen, Dr. Ruppel and Proteus. I'm managed to squeeze in all but Proteus so far. Bourbon was a nice sized plant in a big pot at Safeway and Marie was in a gallon pot. Proteus was s small cheapy from Lowes.
Wow, the color on Marie is incredible!

How exciting..please share a pic of your Marie!!..I've been looking at buying that one for a couple of years now...Jeanne

See, clematis don't read books and they often surprise us. The literature data is only to be used as a guideline and being gardeners, we should be willing to push the limits and see what clematis can survive. You might want to participate in the COTW survey on clematis since your survival data on Vienetta is critical to getting a better understanding of the zones that clematis can actually survive in.