I would not combine another vine with the evergreen clematis - I assume you are referring to armandii? This is a very aggressive vine, easily reaching 30' once established and it will simply engulf any other, smaller growing vine, blocking out light and hampering growth, to say nothing of allowing another vine to even bloom. And since it requires NO pruning except to control size and the timing if that, if ever necessary, does not coincide with many other vines, it will just create additional problems. The reason you are having difficulty finding examples of combinations is that armandii with other vines is just not a successful pairing. The armandii will always win :-)

Planting them 5 feet apart is a bit of overkill - 3-5 vines should be more than sufficient to cover that length.
Like other clematis, they take some time to establish and fill in - by the third year you should have pretty complete coverage.

Thank you for your info, gradengal48!

Just wondering if you have better suggestion besides everygreen clematis to cover + add color to the wall?

Or should I consider adding color by planting shrub/ground cover at gound level instead of adding more vine?

Looks like you live in zone 8 and you are so knowledgable, thought you might have better planting idea.

Thanks again!
-b

Is there a reason you want the evergreen clematis? Have you considered using different types along the wall so that you have a longer bloom time? Some of them bloom twice a year in my zone, and you're warmer. Just think how many clemmies you could plant with a 60' long wall! I'm turning green just thinking about it.

The big advantage armandii has over many of the other clematis, especially the LFH's, is that it is evergreen and being a species, has an extremely prolific bloom period. When this vine is in bloom, the foliage - very handsome in its own right - is pretty much obscured by the mass of flowers. Very fragrant also. No pruning required, not susceptible to wilt and will often have a slight late summer or early fall rebloom. Tolerates quite a lot of shade as well. If you are looking for more color, search out the cultivar 'Appleblossom' - dark pink buds will open to blush pink flowers.

opheliathornvt & gardengal48 -

Thanks for your reply! After reading your posts, I start thinking about planting evergreen on one side of the fence for 20'-30', then plant different ones from the other end such as montana, then fill with other summer flowering clematis to fill between them.

Eventually I will have to cut evergreen clematis to control the growth anyway, I wonder if I can try that way to add more colors.

Or do you think evergreen one will still take over whole wall?

Yes, the evergreen one would take over the whole wall and so would a Montana.

A 20-30' wall is what a mature Armandii or mature Montana would cover, by itself, one plant, in about five years.

IF you don't mind having no cover of the wall in winter you could plant multiple type 2's or 3's to have more flowers than white ones in early spring.

NOT in combination with either Montanas or Armandiis though.

Hi Buyorsell888,

Thank you for your reply!

I decided to plant a couple of evergreen clematis from the one side. Our retaining wall is about 60' total, so I'll watch how quickly evergreen one grow next year to decise what to do the other end of wall.

Thanks again!
-b

I suggest a container for the less hardy clematis. Then you could have both. Plus you could cut back the evergreen clematis to 2'-3' in spring to show off the more colorful less hardy types. Then in late summer/early fall have the evergreen blooming when leaves are falling. But I live in Southern Vermont so that may work better for me. Zone 8 is pretty warm so not sure why you need evergreen clematis.
I assume you only have a 2 month mild winter where you could bring in containers for a short time. Anyways , hope this helps. Happy gardening!