I sneak things in to the yard too. Hubby gives me a hard time about it but doesn't really care, as he knows its my happy addiction. There's worse things to spend money on. =) I bought about 15 clematis last spring, most of which turned black and died to the ground through the summer. When I dug them, the roots looked fine, so this year fingers crossed they all come up! No more clematis for me until I'm sure. I've always had good luck with them at my last house, but this one has much more clay. Which ones did you get?

Yeah we need to know all the details since now we are accomplices to this ! Lol

Where did you order from ? I only have 3 coming . But then I saw someone used wire to make supports on their wooden fence and now I feel like the possibilities are endless ! I was using metal trellis for all mine and it was starting to look like a lot of “junk” right now .

I actually got alot of what I got from seeing pictures of yours on here Lily. I ordered from Donahue's, you recommended them, and I got more clematis for my buck ;) I also ordered some from a guy reccomended on ebay.

What are the weekly specials at Donahue's? I see them when I searched Donahue's, but they aren't coming up. Maybe it's not time?

I just took pictures easier, any that were double took, I was just making sure I got everything, I only got of of each on the ebay order.

I'm always sneaking stuff in, Matt at HCR had some he owed me, and I had a gift card that needed using, so I snuck some in their too!

Wow you weren’t kidding when you said you got a lot ! That’s awesome !! In a couple years you’ll have amazing photos. I never saw weekly specials at donahues ? But bluestone has them and you can add to your order until it ships . I’m so mad at myself for not paying for my cart last week. They had clematis brother Stefan which I’ve wanted forever half off and a few daylilys I wanted too. I thought I had a few days to pay but I was wrong and the price went back up. But every week they change their sale page !

Donahues is where I got my huge order from last year. They sent nice plants! Looks like you have great list! I have 11 roses to pick up from HCR in April too, and 8 daylilies from petalpushers! I don't even have much space left. Nuts, I tell ya! Lilyfinch, wire on a wooden fence is hardly even noticeable. You could grow clematis all over your fence! My neighborhood has split rail fencing with wire on it, so my plan was to plant clematis along most of it.

I hate that Lily! I also don't like when your cart disappears. Hopefully the one you want will go back on sale soon. I like bluestone, but they are expensive! I'll have to checkout their sales...at a later date!, lol

Sam I'm glad you got nice ones too. So glad to hear they send nice plants.

I was worried they would sell out who I was wanting. I was thinking of ordering some now, some later, but was worried they would sale out of some, so just took the plunge!

Edited to say Bluestone was not the really expensive one I was looking at, must have been one of the other nuseries!, whoops!! Brushwood expensive !

It supposed to say Brushwood was the expensive one, but when I went to edit it, it just went haywire. I can type on firefox atleast, I can't on google at all. Just one word, if I try another it erases. Firfox only messes up when editing.

If anyone has any recommendations for any of the clematis, I'm all ears, as I am relatively new to them. Can they be planted near trees or will the roots be to much competition?

I did order the books recommend on the other post about best clematis book. To get ideas. But I would love to hear from ya'll. I do plant on putting a few to go with climbing roses on rebar. I do have some that are non vining, so ideas with those would be nice.

I also have a Mrs. Robert Brydon. I tjink the name is, thats never bloomed. Does she like to get a certsin size first, or does she like more sun? Any help would be appreciated for this newbie, that brought alot. I do know they like their rooted shaed.

My recommendation to anyone new to clematis is to focus your initial efforts on creating a great planting situation. A well-planted clem can withstand all manner of neglect or abuse, even unintentional :-)

It is a shame the FAQ's have deteriorated with the takeover by Houzz as they used to have all this info at hand!

• Dig a deep and wide planting hole in well drained soil. 18" wide by 18" deep is the suggested dimension but you can modify that based on the size of the plant. I grow on all my new clematis in a container until their roots fill a 1G nursery pot before planting so I usually opt for a larger hole.
• Amend the backfill with a reasonable amount of organic matter. I use a good quality compost.
• Site the vine in the hole so that the root crown or the soil level of the container is 4-6 inches below grade. Yes, you will be burying part of the stems and maybe even some low foliage.

Note that all these recommendations are counter to accepted planting practices for other plants (hole no deeper than the rootball, do not amend and do not plant too deeply) but experience has demonstrated that clems do best with this added attention. The deep and well-amended hole and deep planting encourages the development of a very strong root system and the production of multiple vining stems from the root crown.

Clems do not appreciate root competition so I would site away from other aggressively rooting plants unless they are planted almost simultaneously so the roots develop together.

Also the "shaded roots" requirement is a bit of a myth. Clems need a consistently moist root run and that is often achieved by shading the root zone to prevent excessive soil moisture evaporation. But mulching well or covering the area with a low growing and shallow rooted perennial or groundcover will achieve the same thing, as will just making sure the vine gets the proper amount of irrigation.

The last important advice is to cut the vines back hard for at least the first two growing seasons in the ground regardless of what pruning group they are in. This is also done to stimulate root development and to encourage more stemming from the root crown. It is often recommended to do so at the same time as the vine is planted but many gardeners are reluctant to cut back what maybe an already budded or flowering plant. I've done it both ways - cut back a brand new vine or just wait until the end of season - and I've not seen a big difference.

Clems are pretty heavy feeders so fertilizing in spring as the buds form is also recommended. Any kind of rose or tomato fertilizer works well and alfalfa meal is also good as it encourages basal stemming.

That should get you off to a good start :-) I would only add that you need to research the sizes of the vines you ordered and site accordingly. Montana rubens can grow to a massive size - I've posted photos of one near me that engulfs a tree and a 35' fence!!