I have lots of climbing roses growing. Some are in full sun and some just get morning sun and some just get afternoon sun. I'd like to grow clematis through the climbing roses I have growing in the morning sun. The afternoon sun in South Louisiana would likely be too harsh for clematis??

The humidity here is awful. Our winters are even humid, so I'm guessing that's an issue for clematis?? I never see clematis growing here, but I'm determined to find at least ONE type that will happily grow here. Have any of you other zone 9ers in humid areas had luck growing clematis? I don't want to baby it. I don't baby my roses. I give them bayer roses and flower 3 in 1 granules 2-3 times a year and that's it. They're on their own with water once established. (Most of them are growing too far in the back of the property for me to have hoses reaching them, so I water them with a watering can until they are established.) I do have a few morning sun climbing roses that are in my courtyard that I'd like to grow clematis through. Those are near hoses so I can more easily water Clems growing through those, but I still don't want to baby them other than bayer rose and flower granules 2-3 times a year. It's just too hot here in the summer to baby anything.

I am guessing that your soil is acidic like our Alabama clay? The Clem wants alkaline. Thats an issue to sort out. They will want cool feet, and moist but compost and mulch could help that. Somebody said plant on marble chips if you have acid soil.

I agree with Dirt.
Clematis like cool feet and sunny heads. I am not sure that they like to be roasted though.

BigBill said:I agree with Dirt.
Clematis like cool feet and sunny heads. I am not sure that they like to be roasted though.

Yeh. Maybe I shouldn't bother with it.

But there's a lady on Dave's garden who lives in Houma, LA (further South than Baton Rouge) and she says she grows clematis with no trouble at all.

So maybe I'll buy 2 and try. Maybe after 4 or so years they'll establish themselves and flower.

I don't know which 2 to try though. I'm thinking sally moser and one of the Montana's/small flowering ones

BigBill said:I agree with Dirt.
Clematis like cool feet and sunny heads. I am not sure that they like to be roasted though.

Yeh. Maybe I shouldn't bother with it.

But there's a lady on Dave's garden who lives in Houma, LA (further South than Baton Rouge) and she says she grows clematis with no trouble at all.

So maybe I'll buy 2 and try. Maybe after 4 or so years they'll establish themselves and flower.

I don't know which 2 to try though. I'm thinking sally moser and one of the Montana's/small flowering ones

Making notes for myself and thought I'd share since i did so much research the last 2 days.....

I ended up buying:

Polish Spirit (said to be good for beginners & is a viticella/resists wilt)
It's a dark petunia purple

Fairy Dust (a viticella/resists wilt)
A very very very light lavender

Happy Jack (an improved Jackmanii)
A violet purple

Minuet (another viticella)
Magenta edges with White centers

Montana Mayleen (Montana's resist wilt)
Soft baby pink

Rooguchi (Hardy & resists wilt)
Dark bluish purple

Sweet Summer Love (child of a viticella)
Magenta pink and violet purple combo with white stamens

Pink delight (a diversifolia that is said to be hardy b/c a viticella is a parent)
Mauve pink centers and light pink edges

I'll be running these Clems through the following climbing roses:
Iceberg (white)
Clotilde Soupert (Light porcelain pink)
Madame Alfred Carriere (Creamy White)
Sombreuil (Creamy buff white)
New Dawn (light blush pink)
Zepherine Drouhin (hot pink)
Peggy Martin (pepto pink)
Sally Holmes (White)
Prosperity (white)
Arctic Blue (lavender w/a frosty tint as blooms fade)

I probably won't get blooms for a few years but that's ok. I'll report back to say if they live, seem happy, or look miserable in case anyone in the humid South wants to give clematis a whirl.

Wish me and these little Clems good luck :)


Adding to the list for my notes. In March 2020 during the corona quarantine i was bored and spent too much money on more flowers. Two more clems were some of my purchases.

Piilu (little duck) clematis is very ruffled doubled mid pink flower in spring and single in late summer flush. Paired with New dawn to cover new dawns bare legs and nasty thorns

H.F. Young clematis is Light mid lavender bluish planted with my other new dawn

Good luck, and keep us posted.

ctcarol said: Good luck, and keep us posted.

I know this is an old post, but for anyone interested in growing Clematis in Louisiana, it is VERY doable with hardly any work at all. Just a little osmocote, pulling off the dead leaves, and some WAITING….

Some of it MAY be luck on where you plant them too. Some made it and some didn't. Too much shade and poorly draining soil was likely an issue for many. Some simply got lost under the climbing roses. They are still alive but haven't yet found their way out to do much. Hopefully in time they will. I have 2 that aren't in roses that are healthy vines but have yet to flower. So I'm just waiting patiently. The problem is I don't remember which 2 these are. What a lovely surprise it will be when they finally decide to reveal their blooms though, right? :)

Mrs. Bateman is going strong. She's my absolute favorite! Happy Jack is my second favorite followed by Rooguchi (a Louisiana native) followed by Diamond Ball. They are all quite different in the type of blooms too! So it's a very fun assortment to have!

The little TRUE blue bells of Rooguchi remind me of Thumbelina, a favorite childhood story of mine. I imagine Thumbelina would live in one of these little bells :)

A pic of Mrs. Bateman right as she was getting started this Spring is below. (She has 3 times the amount of blooms now.) She is the very first thing to bloom on my property — before any rose, azalea, clematis, etc, and even before my Japanese Magnolias! Her blooms are the size of the palms of my hands with centers somewhat similar to passion flower vine blooms. Just stunning, and she blooms for MONTHS and each bloom lasts at LEAST 4 weeks in the protected location I have her (under an eave). She didn't do much for the first couple of years besides establish her vine. Then she had 3 blooms then a couple more and last year she went bonkers. & this year even more so.

All the clems need patience and get better and more spectacular with every passing year. I think people THINK they aren't happy here and give up on them and pull them up. But they just need a few years to establish before they can put on a show. For example, I can't wait to see what Diamond Ball does in the next few years!

So below is Mrs. Bateman in early Spring right as she was getting started. I'll post pics of the others as well

Berrycajun said:I'll post pics of the others as well

Here's Diamond Ball at the moment. She's the youngest of the bunch. Night blooming jasmine grows up the trellis next to her. Hard freezes get the jasmine every year, but it always comes back :)

Here's happy Jack at the moment growing up a wire on a brick wall. Rooguchi is to the left of it above the Sombreiul rose but the buds are just starting to swell

Lovely pictures, thanks for the update

Glad to see a follow up post...
I musta missed this originally...

I don't know what all varieties of clematis we're growing here, but they're tolerant of the conditions here in middle Georgia with no special efforts, in both clay and sand....

I've even grown them from vine cuttings buried in the sand.