I don't know a thing about Clematis and the only one I'd ever grown is Nelly Moser which has always done well here in Florida. Someone gave me seeds of Clematis Niobe and I threw them in a pot with a Stephanotis plant on February 8th and I just noticed this afternoon a tiny little bloom ... and I do mean tiny! Is this normal? I didn't think any Clematis had blooms this small and I thought Niobe's blooms were going to be larger than Nelly Moser. Any ideas why these are so tiny, is it perhaps because it's the first bloom? This isn't the greatest photo ... the flash went off and there's a shadow but you can see by the ruler that the bloom is really small. I'm just wondering if in a couple of years as the plant takes off, will the blooms be any larger? It could very well be a cultivation issue ... I'm a bad plant mom and the Stephanotis plant is root bound and not doing well because it needs transplanting ... maybe there isn't enough room in there for the Clematis!

Lin, when you grow seeds from a hybrid clematis, they are highly unlikely to produce the same plant. Your bloom is the right color for Niobe, but it could be a smaller genetic relative or perhaps something new that you have created just by planting this seed.

In general, though, you're right about cultivation issues affecting the size of the bloom. A young plant with little room to grow will produce smaller blooms.

It's tiny, but it's still very pretty.

Thanks Ladies! I really need to transplant the Stephanotis and I will look for a spot in the garden for the Clematis. I will be curious to see if it performs any differently. It's a cutie of a little bloom!

That is a cute little bloom! That is exciting that you got a plant from a seed. Looking forward to seeing it in a bigger pot too.

If anyone could grow a Clematis from seed, it would be you, Lin! I wonder if any of mine will produce seeds? Anyone know what seed pods look like? I was wondering about this just the other day, so it was fun to come across this thread. Hope you'll give us an update when your "baby" has had a chance to stretch its legs in a new pot!

Congratulations on growing your clematis from seed. I put in new plants last spring and again this year, and I found that the first year blooms were smaller than this years blooms. It also depends on the time of year that your clematis is blooming. Here is a comparison of Niobe in the spring, and a bloom from today which is 1/3rd the size of the spring blooms. For my clematis that tend to rebloom, the later blooms are smaller, and some that are double in the spring, tend to bloom as single later in the year, so the temperature must also play a factor. I'm no expert, but I wanted to share what has occurred in my garden. Good luck with your new baby.