I just bought Venosa Violacea in the Viticella group, which is supposed to be a heat tolerant group. It’s shipping from Brushwood in early February. http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=585

1) Some do......most do not. Only certain cultivars of the pruning group 2 large flowered hybrids (LFH's) are repeat bloomers.

2) there are a number of very shade tolerant species and hybrids and some actually prefer some shade. They prefer well drained soil that has been organically enriched and deep/wide, well-prepared planting holes. They dislike dryness so a shady or plant protected root zone or a good layer of mulch will help keep moisture in the root zone. Not fussy about pH although I would avoid strong swings in either direction.....slightly acidic to slightly alkaline is good.

3) Few of the LFH's are fragrant but as noted there are a number of species clems with good fragrance. Clematis armandii may have the strongest fragrance....also tolerates a lot of shade.

4) I seldom do mail order - I can get pretty much anything I want from local sources - but my go-to source if I did is Joy Creek.

Thank you all for the information! This year, we will likely build a home here in Texas, and I will be eager to start a new garden. I cannot imagine giving up on roses, will likely grow various bush varieties and plant those I have growing in pots when I have a yard of my own. My hope/potential plan is to grow clematis in place of climbing roses because I think they are less problematic in terms of dreadful diseases?

Hi Lynn! I was hoping someone from our area of Texas would come on to help answer your questions, but it seems this group is very quiet right now. I know only that the large flowered clematis do not do well in South Texas. It is just too hot; not only in the day time, but in San Antonio many nights do not go much below 90 degrees.

I watched some large flowered clematis planted at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens several years ago and they languished and died by mid summer. However, Austin is 60 miles north and is a slightly higher elevation so that may not be the case there.

I did a search on my favorite Texas Blogger site, Pam Penick's Digging, located in Austin. The first three entries are about the clematis she grows. Most of the other clematis entries are about gardens in other parts of the country.

You can also do a search on here, the Texas Garden Web, but most of those posting about their success with the large flowered varieties are in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area.

The clematis varieties that are said to do best in South Texas are the ones from Texensis Group which are mixed with our Texas native clematis Pitcheri.

Wishing you the best on your quest for good plants to grow in Texas. Texas Super Stars is a good site to check out what will grow well in our state.

Another Texas focused article for clematis. http://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/marapr13/Clematis.html
This why I bought a Clematis in the Viticella group since they don’t need winter chill to bloom. But you are in zone 8b so you may not need to worry about that.

I am about 2 hours NE from Houston. I grow mostly the big flowered group because they are so gorgeous but plan to branch out with others in the Viticella group this year. Mine do exceptionally well. I plant them in good soil where the roots can flourish and for the first several years in the ground, cut the plant, no matter what pruning group it is in, down to 5-10" - this makes them grow more roots and in time, you can revert to the pruning group they belong in. If they get wilt [have only had this once], just cut the plant back and it will regrow.

Monte Casino was glorious last year - Niobe is a good one, and I am trying Margaret Hunt, which looks very strong in a pot. HF Young is a great favorite and easy to find locally. Many good ones........I have ordered from all of the above vendors with great success - just order from the one who has the plant you want - they sell out of alot of things early.

Dont give up on roses - they are wonderful, give alot of bang for your buck. Go to the Roses Forum if you have questions on roses. Chamblees in Tyler is a good one to order from - you might want to try the pink Aloha - it does great for me, always in bloom. So many beautiful climbers! They bloom more than clematis - but when clematis bloom, they steal the show. With planning, you can have something blooming at all times in your garden. Star jasmine, an evergreen climbing vine, emits fabulous perfume once in the spring, wouldnt be without it. Good luck!

Judith

Wow!! So much great information. It is really helping me learn the basics! I am taking notes. Thank you all.

Alameda-Judith -

I have not given up on roses, yet, however, a visit to the Domain a couple of weeks ago was a reality check for me. For the first time in person, I saw RRD actively growing on K.O. roses. My last Las Vegas garden, at one point, had over 250 roses, so I am thoroughly addicted, which is unlikely to change. I just cannot imagine, nor do I want to ever tackle trying to remove a climbing rose due to RRD. That would very likely be heartbreaking and cumbersome.

Knocking on wood as I say this..........I have not seen RRD and so hope I dont. Not many - if any - rose growers where I live so maybe I will be safe, unless it comes in budwood from ones I order. Rust on daylilies has been a battle [yes, I am a daylily addict too!] but it doesnt seem to kill them. I dont even spray for it.......just sort of live with it - doesnt stop the blooms.

So glad you are having fun! Thats what it is about - being outdoors, being totally involved with growing plants and enjoying life!

My mother inlaw had a C.jakamani that took a long time to establish in Austin but never died and then it finally started doing well. I have had great luck with Sweet Autumn clemantis for 20 years now. One does not have to worry about it being invasive in the Hill Country. I have had 1 seedling in all that time. I grow it in mostly shade. There was a break in the canopy that let some light in but now that gap has closed. I think I will have to move the plant. I might experiment with other small blooming ones. It is a mass of blooms and the bees LOVE it. I also don't irrigate and it does mostly well. I have a grey water outlet not far so it does get more moisture than other parts of my garden. I grow both C texensis and C. pitchers.

I have continued to take notes from this thread and the Clematis forum. I am so appreciative of you all who contribute to creating this resource! Another question, please...When is the best time to purchase and plant clematis?

I would avoid planting whenever your heat index is high :-) So better in early spring or in fall into winter (as long as soil is workable) but I'd avoid summer or when temps are routinely in the 80's or above.

Gardengal, do you recall Jeanne from Conroe, Tx? She was a whiz with clems. Had simply gorgeous photos too......I corresponded with her a good bit. Such a nice lady, dont know what happened to her........would have loved to have seen her clems in person - they were magnificent and I think she grew all kinds. So that tells me they can all grow in Texas. I never hesitate to plant anything that I love - many times am surprised at the fact that it grows and survives. Everything except the D. Austin Summer Song and Dame Judi Dench - roses I really wanted!!

Austin is a different story from Conroe. AND it really depends on what side of the Balcones fault that the OP builds her house and how much soil and how hard her water water or if she has water to water with. It gets dicey out where I am.

wantonamra-

If the Balcones fault is in an area near the 35, I am west of there in the Hill Country just outside of Austin, but where we will very likely build a house will be in the Hills of Texas also. How does the Balcones fault impact soil etc.?

Soooo, I am about to put credit card money down to purchase Clematis "Empress". I think it is gorgeous! I have never grown clematis, but have grown hundreds, if not over a thousand roses. Would this purchase be a mistake for my southern location?

I work in the city (Austin), and I can say that where I live is not as hot or humid. We see fog, but I have yet to experience the humidity or heat, at home that I encounter at work. As someone noted, maybe being in the hills is making a difference in that respect... but will it be a positive for this clematis?

If I go through with this purchase, the clematis will be grown in a pot. I would appreciate any suggestions you all can provide regarding medium etc.

TIA

Not sure, how much info from Dallas will help, but the Texensis group is quite vigorous here. Large flowered hybrids do well with some shade and the sugar sweet series is truly fragrant. Integrifolias and non vining types also do well. Princess Diana, Duchess of Albany, Princess Kate, Alionushka, Henryi, Rebecca, Saphyr indigo, Venosa Violacea, Roguchi and Big sombrero are some of my favorites. I feed and amend them with their rose companions: lots of compost, RoseTone, liquid seaweed and hardwood mulch.

Asao is in a pot:

Henryi loves shade

Sugar sweet lilac; first year from Brushwood; wilted stems since pruned

Thank you so much, Dreamr! I did not purchase the clematis, (became distracted) and am contemplating it again.

I may purchase it today, but this impulse is tempered by concerns. I am new to Texas, it will be a year next month and although my area is rated 8b, there was probably what seemed like 5-7 days that were cold, and only for several hours. I moved here from Las Vegas, zone 9a, and in terms of Winter chill, it was definitely more reliably cold in terms of its Winter temperatures than what I experience here. This past Winter seemed more like an extended Fall to me, versus any semblance of weeks of significantly colder temperatures.

If I find the courage to purchase this clematis, it will grow in a decent size pot where it will be in shade or it will receive about 4 hours of filtered sun. I have been trying to research planting requirements, so thank you for providing information regarding your fertilization program etc,