May become more pink a bit farther along in the blooming. Otherwise, you may have a poor clone. Replace with a named clonal cultivar, with a name like 'Elizabeth' for instance. Outlets here sell multiple anemone clematis cultivars in bloom, in one gallon pots. You can see (and smell - some are fragrant) what you are getting right from the start.

Clematis montana rubens is a botanical variety, embracing any and all plants that have the botanical characters used to define the variety.

It's best to buy Montana rubens when in flower, mine is not as pink as my daughters, they are variable. M. Elizabeth IMO is much nicer with a good fragrance and M. Freda is a lovely, it has a darker edge which makes it stand out.

Sometimes first flowers can be off too. I have several Clematis who have green or green streaked first flowers.

Problem solved. The plants were mislabelled. I hope that nurserymen understand what a waste of time this is for their customers. They should not be surprised if the customer takes their business elsewhere.

My Montana Rubens Clematis is not flowering at all. Any tips on how to get it to bloom?

Terry, how big is the plant? Is it getting some sun? Did it get damaged by the big freeze last November?

Clematis like lime, and they need a cool, moist root run, so mulch them.

Anemone clematis flowers on new shoots that come out of buds set on stems present the previous year, not long after these overwintering buds open. If this kind gets cut back hard by pruners or frost the flower buds may all be lost.

Clematis books etc. break the different kinds up into several pruning groups, due to variations in growth behavior. You only want to whack down in late winter/early spring the types that bloom July-October on the ends of new shoots made the same year.

My clematis is about 10 years old and covers a large pergola. Its head is in the sun and its roots in the shade. I don't prune it and there's not much die back in the winter and fully leafs out in the spring. Maybe its the fertilizer. I'll try the lime that someone mentioned. Any brand names of good clematis fertilizer? I have about 8 other varieties and they seem to flower well. They are planted in the same sun shade situation. Thanks Terry

My Clematis montana doesn't need fertilizer; it's rampant. The only fertilizer I use in my garden is cheap 10-20-20 that I buy in 40-pound bags. And lime.