Yikes :)

...and is that wisteria on the edge of the house? Someone likes living dangerously with vines.

i had an autumn clem that did that ... but not to that extent .. probably die to my z5 ....... every third year or so ... i pruned off about 90% ... just so it wouldnt collapse the wooden fence ... lol ...

even had mice living in it ... i always wondered why the cat would spend hours just staring at it .. lol ...

ken

I have Sweet Autumn, I’m guessing that’s what this one is. Mine get pruned to a few inches tall every year or it would look like this one. Mine grow on a chain link fence. Personally, I wouldn’t grow this beast on a wood fence.

Sherry

I wouldn’t grow this beast on a wood fence.

They inherited this clematis and I am thinking that if they cut it way back each spring it would be okay on the fence. It would look glorious in bloom.

the only reason i kept it.. was the fragrance .. kinda rare in fall ... and boy it kept the bees busy ...

most likely ... it could be hacked down to 6 inches in spring ... and with its root mass ... be about half the size it is in the pic.. by fall ...

notice the trellis in the first pic ... that got it up the privacy fence ...

ken

Prune away, they will still have a great display. Everything I’ve read about this clematis says to prune close to the ground every year, I prune in early spring. I worry this plant would shorten the life of the wood fence.

Sherry

If growing BC, it could be any number of white flowered clems :-) Lots of clems get to be of enormous size here!! This is a photo of C. montana Rubens growing on a property near me..........

As you can see, it has already consumed a tree.........and is galloping along about 40' of fence off to the left as well!

The bare vines resemble montana but the picture of the foliage doesn't look like it to me. I agree that the example is relatively neat in comparison with some of the tree and building eating Clematis in temperate climates.

She will send pics when it is in bloom which should allow for a confirming ID.

Btw many a British garden has a beast like that on a fence. You can chop them back periodically to treat the fence. Not a big problem.

I have a monster clematis as well. I call it "The Clematis that Ate Arvada". If it weren't so pretty, it could likely be deemed invasive. I've chopped mine down in spring several times and it just comes right back. It used to grow up a 30' tree in my neighbor's yard. But they chopped their tree down leaving a bare trunk about 8' tall. Now my clematis just covers the entire trunk of their tree-no-more.