I'm looking growing some this year, but I haven't been able to get any feedback on how it grows here in Ontario. Is it invasive? I would like to grow it on a trellis by my kitchen window. Any advice?
Thanks
Anyone growing Sweet Autumn Clematis?
Hi sugarshokt, I've grown Sweet Autumn Clematis (C. terniflora) for about five years, I guess. One year it didn't come back and I had to replant. But it is a bit slow to get going in the spring so now I wonder if I had been more patient, would it have come back from the roots. Anyway, it's lovely. And fragrant! Bloomed all of August and September here last year. As for being invasive, it is definitely not invasive here, but I can't say for warmer climes whether it would be or not.
I'm trying seed Clematis mandshurica which is said to be hardier than terniflora.
Here is a pic I scanned from 2004 on the pergola.
Sandy
Hi sugarshokt. I planted mine two years ago and thought I'd lost it last year, as new growth didn't come from the remaining 12" of old wood, but from the ground. It came back, but not as well as I'd been warned about, and not until late May. This year will be its third so I'm preparing myself for the growth to take off. No errant seedlings so far, but the side of the house that its on gets only late day sun, and is cool even in the hottest of summers, so I call it my zone 4B garden bed.
This picture is just as the flowers were opening last September.
Oh I think I want to get that one!
fancyvan, something tells me zone 3a may be pushing it. But, hey, you are adventurous, right? lol
I wish I could give you a report that the Clematis mandshirica is a hardier choice, but I'm just sowing the seed this year, so it'll be awhile before I can recommend it as a replacement. It is supposed to be very similar : http://www.gardensnorth.com/catalogue/database.cgi?Mode=List&Field=Category&Search=CLIMBERS
Sandy
sanannie: Where did you get your seed for the Sweet Autumn Clematis? I think I might try the one you suggested also...I checked out the link and it's almost the same but hardier. Did you get the seed for the other clematis from the same place?
ceedub: Do you have a support behind your clematis? It looks full and bushy from your pic, quite pretty :)
Another difference I noted between the mandshurica (hardier) and terniflora (Sweet Autumn) besides hardiness is the height. The mandshurica is much shorter. Sweet Autumn I have to weave it around the obelisk because it grows much higher. Anyway, to answer your question, sugarshokt, I didn't start Sweet Autumn from seed. I bought the plants.
Sandy
Mine is 4 years old. When do you cut trim them back and how much...I have to take a photo of it this fall in full bloom...
They will certainly grow here and I haven't found mine to be invasive. They can get quite big though so a study support is necessary. I grow mine on the chainlink fence on the north side of the property. I found it was slow to get big if I cut it back completely in the spring. It shares the fence with honeysuckle. Now I leave the main fraework of the oldest stems and just trim back growth that encroaches too much on the honeysuckle.
On the opposite fence I have what appears to be Summer Snow a.k.a. Paul Farges (I've lost the tag but I'm pretty sure that's what it is...) It looks much like SAC and is also sweetly scented but blooms for me in July. It is considered by most clematis sites to be a hard prune one like SAC but mine didn't bloom until I stopped pruning it back! I later found one botanical garden site that said it blooms better with light pruning, which is what I do.
Growing both SAC and Summer Snow gives me a long season of scented, small-flowered white clematis.
The SAC in early September:
and the Summer Snow in July - on the right side of the picture (taken through a window so not the best view of it...)
