I live in Northern California at 2380 elevation, zone 8a. I garden on 1/3 of an acre and love to grow perennials but my passion is clematis. I have about 200 in the ground.

Katie

Hi, Katie. Welcome to ATP. With 200 clematises, you're certainly a welcome addition to the Clematis Forum. I hope you'll be posting photos of your plants and joining in our discussions.

What a glorious photo! So glad you joined us here.

Hi Katie!
Welcome
I really want to walk down that path...
Can't wait to see more pictures!

Thanks. You certainly make it easy to post a picture.




Katie

Your clem's are certainly lush!

That's a good start, just a few hundred more to go...
Just kidding--I imagine with 200 or so on 1/3 acre you have quite a few together.
Do you combine with similar bloom times/different bloom times/both-- any favorite combinations to share?

//and if you can tell me what their names are please do cuz I'm no good at figuring it out otherwise

The trick is to find clematis that bloom together in your zone. Truthfully I have never seen a bad combination. To me purple is kind of neutral and goes well with any other clematis color. I love purple and light blue together. I have mostly type 1`s and type 3's. The 3`s are a lot more hardy in my area.






This is one of my favorites - Ville de Lyon

Katie

You're right about purple. I love violet best of all but, just like Japanese irises, most clematises do not clash with each other.

Mrs. Yuki is the violet one and HF Young is the light lavender.

Katie! Love that first shot, a beautiful wall of green and blooms! Looks like you have some large trees giving you partial shade? It all looks so lush.
I hope you will consider adding photos to the clematis database too, we love pretty bloom shots!!

Hi Katie,

Welcome to ATP and the clematis forum. I have to say your pictures are stunning, and such a delight to see, when it's so dull, cold and gloomy in GA. I look forward to seeing more of your pictures.

Arlene, your picture with Yuki and HF young is just gorgeous. I thought I was out of room for more clematis, but now that I see more than 1 color combined, I'll have to start doing the same thing My plants are planted individually, growing them is combination is a great idea.

Annette

Thanks, Annette. There are 8 on the rear of the fireplace. They would all do better with more sun but I can't move the house or change the sun so "it is what it is".

Those are so pretty. What are the names of the last 2 plants? I love the double blooms.

I'm not pirl but I am pretty sure they are Belle of Woking and Multi-Blue.

Sue wins the grand prize: New York snow to decorate the garden!

I buy them at Walmart (in green plastic bags) in March for $5. and change. They're very common and I can justify buying the more expensive and rare ones from Brushwood without feeling any pangs of guilt. It's also easier to continually pinch back the ones from Walmart because the investment isn't much.

Belle changes color and form as the months go by.

New York snow! I can melt it fast and use it to water the plants!

Yes, you can. With this vast white view you could probably water at least one garden! It looks so lovely when the sun is shining but this view, sans the sun, makes it look the way it feels...BRRR!

I spotted deer tracks at the side of one garden but didn't try following them and didn't go out to track them!

Thanks for the name. Are you sending Sue's snow by FedEX or US Mail😂😂😂😂

I'll have to check Walmart early during the spring. They had some early last year, and when I went back, they were gone.

I'll send it by regular mail and she'll just get a wet box.

Here Walmart has them in early March so I'm guessing it would be early February for your area. They always carry Nelly Moser, Jackmanii, Ernest Markham, Belle of Woking and their version of Ville de Lyon, which they call City of Lyon - exact same plant. They have also had Venosa Violacea many times in the past. I grow them indoors, cut them back as they reach about 18" and keep them cut back. They go outside in mid May and still get cut back over and over again.

I did allow these two to bloom since I had wanted this one for years and had received others, in place of it, numerous times. I had to be sure it was the real thing!


Last year I bought two City of Lyon and they've been outside (potted) through this miserable winter. That should be a great hardiness test for them. They were purchased 3/12 and the other photo in the collage shows their growth by 4/12.