I had to look that one up too... There seems to be a few species with these little tubular flowers that all look somewhat alike. The one I have (that you have seen growing here in the south driveway border) is Clematis stans (according to the tag it came with...) It's a pretty woody thing structurally - never needs staking and stays upright at about 2'. It blooms in late August and hummingbirds love it! I have no idea where you'd get one now. I'm not sure if the place I got it in Milton is still in business as the owners were very old when I bought it years ago. I really like it and wish I had more of them.

'Woody' that's the ticket! That is "shrub like" is now what I recall reading about for my still unplanted clematis (yup I do have one).

Excellent post 'gg'...thank you. But your description got me thinking as it didn't seem to jive with what I recall had been described to me for this particular specimen (that I still have in its original nursery container from early May).

And now 'woodys' post and picture has jogged my memory. Doing a little more searching I found more details...the particular one that I have is described as being quite "shrub" like (up to 4 feet tall by 3 feet wide).

So 'woody', as you wrote it needs no staking, no trellis or obelisk? And you still have it ie very hardy (and it is herbaceous)?

How big does it get for you? And it flowers in August for an extended period?

(You know what 'woody', I now seem to recall you pointing out this "not typical" clematis to me on one of my visits to your fine garden).

Great "work" gals...thanks very much.

Rouge- I remember you asking what it was on probably your first visit here...:-)

i was just looking on-line to see if the nursery I bought if from is still in business. I found a phone number, but I also found an article dating back to 2013 - and the owner was 85 then and his wife 68! The two of them ran the place... So if it is still in business, I’d guess it is under new ownership....

i have never staked this plant. If I remember, I cut the stems down in the fall to a couple of buds near the base. It’s got quite a thick woody base now. As you can see from the picture above, it flowers as the cherry tomatoes are ripening :-). It blooms for about 3 weeks I think. The picture above was late August. I’m not on the computer at the moment where the pictures are so I can’t give the exact date. It gets about 2-3‘ tall and wide at most.

Rouge- I remember you asking what it was on probably your first visit here...:-)

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1669828/an-odd-clematis#n=19

Interesting old thread rouge :-) The one I moved from shade did not survive the move. I have become increasingly convinced that this one really is a C. stans.

Since the pictures are gone from that linked thread, if anyone is interested in the reference to hummingbird, here is that picture - note that the flowers are fading in the picture:

Rouge - you might find this article interesting. I’m pretty sure this is where I got the C. stans as I remember some of the things (e.g. the gravel garden) that he talks about in the article. Given his age in 2013, I suspect if the business is still open, he’s not there. In the article he said his kids were not interested. It was quite a unique place as I recall....

Very interesting 'woody' re that nursery! As one who prides himself on knowing "all" the go to nurseries in Southern Ontario I had never heard of it but as you said it is almost for sure no longer there.

i was just looking on-line to see if the nursery I bought if from is still in business. I found a phone number, but I also found an article dating back to 2013 - and the owner was 85 then and his wife 68! The two of them ran the place... So if it is still in business,

'woody' I just got off the phone after having a nice conversation with the wife of the owner. They closed up I think a couple of years ago she said as the husband who is now 92 just couldn't cope anymore with the dementia he had been experiencing for several years :(.

I assume nobody carried on the business...? I figured the situation would be something like that. The location is close enough to suburban housing areas that the land might have value to a developer... Did she say anything about that? i.e. I wonder what will happen to the property....?

I'm sorry forgot to mention that ie the nursery is no more. And was it the case that they had a house on the property?

I took delivery of this clematis in mid May not knowing where it would go. And it still hasn't been planted :(. This week, in the tight confines of a plastic nursery pot it is showing some flowers.

UPDATE (Sept 2021):

I planted it in the ground in the late Fall of 2020. But when I finally saw signs of life in 2021 I knew it was in the wrong place and so I put it in a container.

Here it is in bloom (looking just the yours @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada in the picture you posted above).

Rouge, How do you overwinter your container perennials like this clenatis? Or will you plant it in another spot?

Nice to "hear" from you @NHBabs z4b-5a NH :).

I have accumulated many permanently in pot perennials, shrubs (hydrangeas) and Japanese Maples the last few years. Almost all go into our attached but unheated garage come November/December (of course depending on the weather). (The potted paniculata hydrangeas have done just fine in their containers outside all winter up nearer the house.)

(I think this will be my first time overwintering a potted clematis...this one and another one called RAIN DANCE...fingers crossed)

Thanks for the kind words and the advice, Rouge. Life has kept me busier than ideal for a while, between work, a family member needing some extra care, and a pending move in the next year back to the midwest to be near family after more than 40 years in New England. So my time here at GW has been limited for a bit.

I will have a real garage in my new place as well as a walk out basement to store tender potted plants, so the potential is tempting. DH had some heavy duty wheeled carts that might be fun to move to WI with me in order to facilitate moving plants in and out, as sort of industrial-looking plant stands. So thanks for that idea!

it will take some adjustment as a gardener because the soil at my new place is slightly alkaline, dense clay, quite unlike my current soil which is an ideal acid, fine sandy loam.