I don't do a lot of experimenting with this, but the only clematis that haven't been hardy for me are the montanas, and the floridas, and I want to try another florida, but protect it with a pot filled with leaves, overturned on top of it for the winter. I have no idea how one could protect a montana, since they get huge. I guess you'd have to find a warmer microclimate on your property to try. Luckily, in our zone, most clematis are hardy without protection.

That is not good to hear...I am referring to a montana. I do have a f. sieboldii that has very reluctantly made it for it's 3rd summer. I have 1 stem that is blooming it's head off right now.

I did find 2 nurseries that sold it locally & Klehm's headoffice just a hour away (mailorder only) sells it. Maybe I'm just being hopeful.

I did end up buying 1 from the local nursery for $13 & am trying to get creative with it. I saw a pic where someone took a few of the stems & trained them to grow over their garage door & looked really neat. I was thinking that if I planted it with protection from winter winds & trained a few of the stems to grow along the backside of my house could work. The heat from the house should keep them warm enough, I'm hoping. One of the employees said she had 1 growing thru a privet hedge for years & has done well. Not sure if I could trust her integrity when it came to the sale.

How many have you lost? How were they sited?

I only tried the one montana and it was planted to grow on an ilex hedge, so not near any heat source at all, but I planted it before I knew it might not be hardy here, so when it died, I never tried another one. I have had one florida die on me, but currently am trying another one, because they're so beautiful, and I had heard that they might be hardy in zone 5. Since this one is small, I want to try the overturned pot trick and see if it works. If I lose this second one, that will be it for me. I'm not too interested in pushing zones, especially with expensive plants.

I really love the foliage on the montana & since it was only $13, I thought I'd give it a try. I've spent $ in a lot worse ways, trust me.

Still too soon to say anything about the hardiness of the sieboldii. I've had it for 3yrs now & 1 measley little stem out of that root ball. I'll take what I can get, though. I didn't give it any more protection than any other plant in my yard & wouldn't say it's in a microclimate either. I wonder if I positioned it differently & put more than the typical 3" of mulch it would have done better. Then again, what is all that snow for anyway? It didn't put out it's 1st stem until mid-June. The buds started opening July 21st & I have yet to see the purple! These flowers really take there sweet time opening up.

This is the way it looked 3 days ago with little change as of today.
"{{gwi:617677}}"

I've seen that picture of the clematis over the garage door and agree it's gorgeous. If you don't mind losing the $13, and I wouldn't either, except that I have other obsessions besides plants (!), then I'd go for it. Near your house, it might be warm enough for it, and with global warming, who knows, maybe it'll take over your garage! If it works for you, please let me know and maybe I'll take another chance on it.

I will definitely keep you posted!

You didn't mention anything about your sieboldii. How long have you had the 2nd one now? Where did you buy it (locally...mail order)? Are you experiencing the same as I?