I think the native, Clematis virginiana stays green all year (it seems to in my yard.) Some people call it "sweet autumn clematis". Smells heavenly when it blooms, which it does several times in the summer/fall. It looks like it is covered in snow when its blooms suddenly appear. I'm told it is a prolific seeder, but I have never noticed this.

-Regina

Yes i agree with rizzir, and I do find it coming up where it had to have come from seeds, it is ramptant here.

Clematis virginiana isn't evergreen, it dies back and comes up from the roots in spring. Clematis armandii is evergreen, though, and fragrant. You can check it out at the link below.

Marty

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis armandii

Clematis Amandii is fabulous and evergreen, along with the Crossvine, which is NOT the trumpet vine!!!
Both of those are at Dan West, here in Memphis...

Perhaps I have C. armandii then, because I have very old, thick vines on several of mine, and I have seen the foliage all winter. Does anyone know of a website that shows the foliage of each, for comparison? Mine are very fragrant, and bloom more than just in autumn.

You'd know if you had armandii -- it's got great big leaves.

The problem is, you may or may not actually have virginiana. There's an exotic invader called sweet autumn clematis, known by several different scientific names -- C. terniflora, C. paniculata, C. maximowicziana, and so on -- that looks more or less the same. It does sometimes keep its leaves.

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/clematisvirg.html
http://msucares.com/lawn/garden/msgardens/03/030818.html

If they are so similar, why would "Sweet Autumn" be considered invasive? Can they not interbreed if they are so close? Does it really push out its "good twin"? Is anyone sure?

I dunno!

Oh, as to the original question: I have a Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) that I'm very fond of. It's evergreen, has attractive leaves, and smells great. However, it's not in bloom for a very long period.

Another thought -- some roses are evergreen or semi-evergreen around here. If you have plenty of sun and don't mind the thorns, climbing roses could give you beautiful smelly flowers for a large portion of the year. :-)

I agree with Amazondoc about the Jasmine. I have both
the white conferate jasmine, as well as the Yellow Jasmine.
My conferderate jasmine gets killed back to the ground,
whenever we have a bad Winter. The yellow blooming jasmine
is much hardier. It blooms for few weeks in the spring, but you might get another flush of bloomin Fall, if you cut it back a bit, cuase it blooms on new growth.

Someone here in East TN gave me a cutting of Night Blooming Jasmine/Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) which is supposed to get a very fragrant though not showy blossom, and blooms on and off all summer with heavy watering and good humidity. That seems like a shrub you may want to try (I thought she said it was a vine, but it appears not), though I am not sure if it will need to be dug up and overwintered indoors.

My cutting only just started growing rapidly so it must have its true roots now. I just planted it in full sun (morning to 3pm only) in my tropical garden. We'll see how it does.

I decided on the Akebia vines. I got Akebia quinata 'Shirobana' (white flowers) and Akebia quinata with the dark flowers. I liked the five-leaf look --- it reminded me of a schefflera plant. We shall see......

I thought I saw a variegated-leaf akebia at the UT Trial Gardens this spring? Ione, do you know if that's what I saw? If so, what color does it bloom? (I didn't know it did!)

-Regina

Errrrr.....they have lots of variegated porcelain vine there. They may also have variegated akebia....I think *maybe* they do....but I don't remember for sure at the moment.

Akebia's "common" name is chocolate vine -- because the flowers smell like chocolate! the flowers I 've seen are chocolate brown as well -- but some akebias bloom white, and there may be other colors that I don't know about.

Hey Rizzir, that night-blooming jasmine will definitely need to be brought inside over the winter. It's a zone 9 plant. I left a couple outside last winter, just to see for myself, and they lasted awhile, but by the end of the winter, they were definitely toast.

Great plant, though -- wonderful scent! And yes, I would call it a shrub rather than a vine.

I have thought about akebia several times. The first time I encountered the smell, I couldn't find the blooms. It was in the shade so it was hard to see the chocolate blooms.

Then I saw the off-white bloom in full sun which is more visible....and it does have interesting foliage.

For the first few years, it seems to stay reasonable well within bounds.....but I have a friend whose shade garden is full of it at least 50' or more from where it was started originally. It is growing under the porch and house and up trees. She has the chocolate bloom.

The white one at UT gardens doesn't seem to have strayed that far yet.

Amazondoc: how severe does the winter have to be to damage your confederate jasmine?...or does it always kill it back to the roots? I've wintered mine inside since it was labeled zone 8. Now I wish I had tried it in the ground.

I've had my confederate jasmine -- in a pot! -- outside for three or four years now, with no significant dieback. Now, it IS on a concrete slab up against the wall of the house -- but it's in the shade, and potted. So that's a mix of factors to consider concerning hardiness. Overall -- so far, so good!

yes, I was warned about the akebia vine's growth potential. I got two, a chocolate and a white-chocolate vine and they are both in an area where I am at nearly every day so I can keep a close eye on them and trim as needed. i really just love the leaves on it and hope it stays pretty all winter. the flowers are just an added bonus. i probably would not plant these vines in an area i vist infrequently because they could take over before you know it!