i know there are some fabulous Clem growers here that will have different results but my type 2s have never been overwhelming. I grow cezanne and andromeda on a trellis and they are delightful and small. I like that because it keeps the detail of my trellis showing . I don't know why but this winter they died down the ground so I'm not sure what they'll look like but they have returned strong.

Heres last years photos

I don't have it but have seen photos of piilu "little duckling " Clem and it looks beautiful and would be a great pick as well . I always saw it at lowes and never bought it and now of course it's on my want list :)

i have two obelisks as well that could use Clem's. I was using them to protect random plants but it's time they had a good plant! I just remembered I had planted a Safire indigo ground cover clematis in one , it hasn't returned yet but that's one that can scramble in a pile or be tied up and I think would be lovely for you ! And it's a beautiful blue , like black and blue salvia blue .

I find that often the legs on smaller obelisks aren't long enough to anchor them well once they are covered with foliage, so I usually strap on longer legs made of rebar, attached with dark colored zip ties. Sometimes I use a smaller trellis next to a stiff-stemmed shrub, so the clematis starts up the trellis, and when it gets to the top of the trellis it moves over to the shrub for support. I haven't ended up with many small clematis, so another strategy I've used with smaller obelisks is anchoring them with an extra-long piece of rebar that goes up near the middle and gives some extra height. I usually top the rebar with something ornamental.

My smallest clematis are Piilu (AKA Little Duckling) which is around 5'-6', and Star River, which doesn't cling and is around 4'-5', so I grow it up the center of an obelisk and just occasionally tuck in stems.

Lilyfinch, just what I had in mind! My obelisks are about the height of your trellis. Babs, I had wondered about what to do when at some time the legs of the obelisks spent too much time underground and rusted......now I know what to do! I have an arbor who lost its legs - now I can give it a prosthesis! Thanks for the suggestion! I went out this afternoon and wrote down the clematis I have in pots. Am certainly not averse to buying more - but if the following list has any that would work, that would be a plus. All are growing well and ready to plant out. Pillu will be a choice for sure.

Hagley Hybrid

Rouge Cardinal

Diana's Delight

Sugar Sweet Blue

Summer Sweet Love

Arabella

General Sikorski

Caroline

John Paul II

Piilu

Jackmanii

Comtesse de Bouchaud

Vyvyan Pennell

Ramona

Bernadine

Monte Cassino

Henryi

Are you familiar with Clematis on the Web? They have a search page, so you can look up the possible ultimate height of plants (along with other info) if you just type in the name. Don't use spaces - just type in one word (or even part of a word) of the name and a list of possibles will pop up that you can click on. You can also type in any one or more other factors. You don't need to fill out more than one line to get a list, just leave the rest blank.

Am very familiar with Clematis on the Web but have never used the search part. I have noticed that some clems can get from 2-4' - that seems to be the smallest. What size range would you recommend for these obelisks? Thanks!!

Just an fyi, but I have been growing various clematis for years.....as many as 60 different types in my old garden.........and very few will remain very small or compact. The vast majority of type 2 clems will grow to 8' or more, however that may be influenced by my climate as well as the natural genetics of the vines. Not too many vining types other than Piilu will say very small.

I would encourage you to look at "patio or boulevard clematis" or the wide range of cultivars introduced by Raymond Evison under that designation. These were bred especially for container culture (but will grow perfectly well in the ground) and are very compact and free flowering plants, normally treated as type 3's for pruning purposes. They would easily adapt to that size trellis.

I agree with gardengal's post above. Even Piilu has grown to drape over the chain link fence.

What a coincidence! I was looking at and thinking of ordering 3 of the patio clematis I saw online last nite! I had no idea they were the smaller ones - the colors just appealed to me. Happy circumstance! The plants I want to order are just what I need for my obelisks! Thank you Garden gal!!!

That's so exciting alameda you found ones that will work for you! I had mentioned I also have some small obelisks to fill and saw online a nursery about 45 min away had little duckling for sale. So we drove out to get one , and by major luck theirs were at least 5 gallon size and only $20! It's the biggest rootball Clem I have ever bought . I have never had a garden long enough to reach this size . Anyway , even tho I thought it would be small enough, it needs a real trellis after all . It's already 5 ft tall . So I am glad you found smaller ones and wish you luck with yours ! :)

I would love to see a photo of mrs cholmondeley on bloom! Mine is small and probably will just be growing this season . I also love roses too , they are my first passion then clematis. I love daylilies as fillers . I bought quite a few in bags at Walmart and they are doing well . I really can't wait for blooms this spring so we can all share with each other !!

As soon as I have some spare time I will use the tutorial about putting photos online from my phone [yes, I am "tech challenged"......] Have a lovely photo of Mrs. C & Ville de Lyon. Also have photos of my new "rock bed" - a small area that I had made up to be a vegetable garden - got 2 peppers planted, but the flowers are so much prettier! I have edged them with new daylilies [2 orders from Maryott, who was going out of business] and put pansies in between them. Am going to put heat loving plants when the pansies play out - like angelonia, periwinkle......this way, when the lilies are finished blooming, there will always be flowers. I will try to get photos uploaded this weekend.....call it my rock bed because I put river rock [a bit larger than pea gravel, easy to walk on] in between the 3 raised beds. NO weeds!!! If a few do come up, easy to yank them out. Really like this new bed.....carrying 80 bags of rock was no fun, but now I love it! I have 2 Crepuscule roses on the arbor but may add some clematis as well as putting them along the fenceline where the wrought iron gate is....