Well first off, you can add some vinyl coated fencing to the wooden planks to get the clematis to climb up that area. As to suggestions, I would always suggest Betty Corning since the flower form is nice and the plant is fragrant. I also like Venosa Violacea for its weird and quirky blooms. Another similar one is Tie Dye that is available from Debbie at Silver Star Vinery. If you could get a native clematis--most probably viorna that is another interesting and not too common one that is grossly underused in my estimation. I supplied Dan Long at Brushwood Nursery with seeds and he has plants coming along. Not sure if they will be available this fall or next spring. Contact him if you are interested. Another underutilized native is clematis texensis. If you wanted something low, you could always till up the area right in front of the fence and use an assortment of integrifolias that spill and sprawl and would add another aspect to your landscaping. I highly recommend Alionushka, Petit Faucon, Roguchi, Arabella, Juuli, Pamiat Serdtsa, Aromatica, the list is endless.

The thing is there are a multitude of type III clematis that would do well on your structure. You can always go with any of the viticellas since they tend to be very floriferous (Betty Corning mentioned earlier) but also Alba Luxurians for its white blooms tinged in green, Huldine for white blooms with a pink rib down the back center, Etoile Violette or Polish Spirit for two purples that are vigorous, Emilia Plater or Prince Charles for a light purple/blue color, Perle d'Azur for its unique bluish color and flattened out flowers, Julia Correvon, Abundance, and Margot Koster for their reddish color, Tango and Minuet for their combination of white and red/pinkish colors, Purpurea Plena Elegans for its quirky double mauve colored flowers, etc.

The sky is the limit and your preference in colors will guide you as to which to pick. Realize that in some zones, you can get a second flush of blooms after the initial by cutting them back by 1/2 to 1/3, keeping them watered and fertilized, and then the second flush will appear.

chelsiechicky - I love that arbor! That is exactly what I have been wanting to put in to replace a broken gate. I have to show your pic to DH. As for color combos, 1 I like is a solid purple type III (maybe Viola) or a solid white (Huldine?) with the purple & white Venosa Violacea. Or a combo involving all three.

Entling,

Thanks so much!! Even though I still have to add the top pieces to finish it, it's a huge improvement over the ugly old chain link fence I had. I got the plan from better home and gardens .com just go to the site and do a seach for arbors and they have a whole bunch with free plans. It was really easy too :) I'll add the link for you for the one I used.

As for color well let's just say I've been shopping and bought a whole bunch. I need to sit back and figure out what color combo's I'm going to put where now. I'm not going to be able to sneek all these in the beds w/o the dh noticing I don't think either so I'm going to have some explaining to do :D

So far I've got...
The President
Miss Bateman
General Sikorski
Bees Jubilee
Proteus
Madame Baron-Veillard
Hagley
E toile Rose
Princess Diana
Betty Corning
Pink Flamingo
Jackmanii
Cassis
Rosemoor
Sweet Autumn

I bought 2 of each too so that way I have more options lol!!!

I still need to think of something to add to my bluebird clematis so I have color after it's done flowering in Spring and I have a Niobe that is lonely that could use another one with it :) Suggestions are welcome of course :)

I'm going to try to group some pinks together and then some purples. I have a couple white ones that I can add in also. Who knows!! All I know is that I'm going to have some planning and planting to do really soon!!

Chelsie

Here is a link that might be useful: Arbor link

Chelsie, just realize you have purchased clematis that fall into all three pruning classes. The first year or so you should prune all three classes the same. In the following years, you might lose main flushes of blooms if you plant all three pruning classes together. For example, Pink Flamingo is a type I that I would separate from all the rest since it typically has its biggest flush of blooms in the spring on old wood. Rosemoor is listed as a type II on COTW but I was told when I got mine that it was a type III and have pruned it accordingly every year I have had it.

In my zone I can treat any type II as a type III and still get blooms later in the season than I would have otherwise. I am not sure if this is going to work in your zone or not so just be cognizant of each plant's pruning class when you do plan your planting scheme. Also be aware that SAC is a monster and will quickly devour anything that is planted close to it!

Sounds like it is going to be impossible to hide all 30 of the clematis you purchased!

Hagley Hybrid and Niobe would look really nice together but HH needs some shade or it fades badly.

;) even if you just bought the sweet autumn it would be impossible to hide! LOL

Nck,

Well I started out buying only group 3s for the arbor and then started loving some of the group 2s also. I don't mind pruning them back but I will have to be carefull not to mix the 2's in with the 3's or it will be a pruning nightmare!!

One of my SAC is going to go with my wisteria if I didn't kill it in a hasty move this Summer. I figured they could go wild together. I havn't a clue as to where I'm putting the other one yet but I'll find a place ;)

I've noticed that some same type clematis have different pruning groups depending on what site I'm looking at. I guess as long as I get flowers at some point I'm happy :)

I'm thinking I can sneak alot of these in the ground this fall and by next Spring with all the moving of plants I've done because of the new fence I can just pretend I had them :) Thank goodness DH don't garden and pays little attention to what I do out there :) hehe

I didn't notice that Pink Flamingo was a type 1 so thanks for pointing that out to me. I have a macropetala blue bird on a tree out front that I would love to add a later flowering vine in with as the bluebird only flowers in early spring and then I have no color for the rest of summer. Any suggestions?

Buyorsell,

Hagley would look nice with Niobe!! I also grabbed Pink Fantasy which looking at the small pictures online looks like it might look nice with Niobe also. My Niobe is in a semi shaded spot so I wouldn't have to worry about the fading color.

Yep no hiding the SAC I don't think. I actually ordered those a while back from Brushwoods and already told DH that I got some so I should be ok ;)

OH I also picked up Kongigskind I think that's how it's spelled locally a couple weeks ago because it was there and marked down, but after reading about it I think I need to move it as it don't get very big. I have it under a small lilac bush with Belle of woking. I was thinking I could get some color on the lilac bushes as they never last long enough ;)

Well now I need to sit down and plan this all out!! Atleast get all the differnt ones set up in the correct groups so I know which ones I can plant together :)

Thanks again for the help!!
Chels

Congratulations on your beautiful new arbor and fence. So much fun to plan. Want to add that I think Wisely would be a good one if you can find it... Nckvilledudes posted an awesome photo awhile back. Also, Palette is very similar to Minuet only darker. Another favorite that is new to me is Mikelite...a very dark purple with showy silvery stamens .

Ok here is what I'm thinking (for now)

Inside my fence with the arbor I'm going to combine Betty Corning, Gipsy Queen and Madame Veillard.

On the outside of the fence (The part you can see in the picture) I'm going to try John Paul II and Princess Diana This way all the group 3s are together.

Now for my Niobe I'm going to add in Pink Fantasy.
For my multi blue I'm going to add Miss Bateman.

In another area I'm going to combine Miss Bateman with Cassis.

I still have some type 2's left and I can't really figure out where I want them yet but atleast this is a start. Let me know if you see any future problems with any of these combos I suggested.

Chelsie

JP II is a 2, not 3, in most places I've found.

Marie

Yep, normally John Paul is considered a type II. Also, Cassis is a type III and Miss Bateman is a type II. This might not be a problem depending on the length of your growing season because they could both be treated as a III.

Konigskind is a compact grower. Mine has never gotten over 2.5 to 3 feet tall.

Have you tried pruning your Bluebird back after it flowers to see if it will flower again later in the season. Then you would get double color from one clematis. I do not know of any other type Is that would bloom later in the season than it.

Here are two of several of the pictures of Wisley that you might be referring to Rosethyme. The second one shows it with Rosemoor.

{{gwi:594189}}

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My Pink Fantasy opens looking "peachy" which I think would clash with Niobe. I have it with a dark salmon climbing rose and it meshes well.

Hagley Hybrid opens mauve and looks great with purple or plum.

Different Clems color up differently in different areas so Pink Fantasy might work great with Niobe in your garden. I'm cringing thinking about it in mine though. LOL ;)

Wisely is just gorgeous, Nckvilledudes. I even like the back of the blooms. Thanks for sharing the photos again.

buy,

Oh no peach with my niobe don't sound good!! I might have to re-think that combo!! Thanks for the insite!

Chelsie

Glad to have provided the picture again Rosethyme.

Since photos aren't always accurate for every neck of the woods, I often hold Clems until they bloom before planting them to make sure my combinations are right. As a former florist, I am anal that way. Many others think there are no clashes in nature and plant away regardless. :)

I think the Clems colored plum purple blend especially well with almost every other Clem.

I am amongst the clan who think all the colors go together BorS. As I have said previously, Mother Nature doesn't discriminate with color combos, so I don't either. However, I do understand that each person's preferences come into play when combining colors.

You must have the patience of Job doing what you do with holding clematis until they bloom to determine what color the plants sepals will be before planting them. In the south, that often won't work since the sun can play games with the color of a clematis' sepal color, bleaching them out. What starts out as a garish color often gets softened very quickly to a more muted color that isn't so contrasting in color and that then will go with other colors.

My Bluebird had a few repeat flowers a week or so ago. It is several years old, and this might have happened in earlier years but not been noticed, as the new blooms were only very high above the arbor.

Mac Markham's Pink did not have a late bloom yet, even tho I had cut part of it severely in the Spring.

My other Atragenes aren't that old yet to know if they will rebloom. The Koreana Brunette did tho, about 3 weeks ago, and it was just bought in April, at the first budding.

Marie

Because I like the cottage feel I normally don't think too many things clash. I pretty much plant things wherever I feel the need but I do HATE orange things. I love the color orange but it always seems to throw off everything in my beds so I end up pulling them out and I have been moving them out back in this one out of the way spot.

BorS, I could never wait for them to flower lol!! I can see where it would be nice to see the flowers before though! I don't have any local place to really get to check them out so I normally go by the little pictures online and of course colors vary due to all computers and even the pictures themselves so I get what I get :)

I had another one of my surprise clematis that I got un-marked open and it's a multi-blue!! I love surprises (o=

Chelsie

I do not have the patience of Job. I often buy them in bloom. Though colors coming from a greenhouse to my yard later are often different.

I also tend to have 25-50 plants or more sitting around unplanted at all times in the "nursery". I buy faster than I can plant. Not just Clematis but all plants. I also buy on impulse and then have to figure out where to put things. Sometimes I have to move or rip out old stuff to plant the new stuff. :0 I just planted some Clems that I bought last year. Though some I bought this year went right into the garden. So far, except for a sale at Park's I should have resisted all of my Clems have been 1 gallons bought locally.

My "nursery" is at an all time low at the moment. Fall plant sales are coming though. :)

I have seen some spectacular color schemes with true red, orange, peach, chartreuse lately but my yard is very small and purples, magentas and blues are my first love so you won't find any orange or true red in my garden. Except for one red Rhododendron that blooms when the Spirea 'Magic Carpet' leafs out and a few Narcissus with orange that bloom at the same time.

BorS, I know all too well about impulse buying. However once I purchase something it normally gets planted immediately since in the south, things suffer here sitting in quart or gallons sized pots over the summer. I do however tend to pot up clematis to grow them out and find that sinking those pots in the ground helps them do better since they have the insulating power of the soil to help them out.

I too love the blues and purples but also love orange and red. I guess that is why I love mixing all colors together. If you could see the interior of my house, you would find that although there is a recurring color scheme of purples, greens, and golden yellows, there are also all the other colors of the rainbow thrown in as well. I find that having that melange of colors allows me to add anything, regardless of color, and it seems to fit in. I guess that translates into my garden as well! LOL