Woofie, the fear of the different pruning groups is what originally kept me from growing these beautiful plants. I have some clematis that belong in each of the groups, but some winters the rabbits and voles chew them all down to the ground and I have never lost any from this. Severely stunted some of their growth for a year but they came back.
Anna, once established, most clematis in my zone 4 gardens survive with very little supplemental watering during the summer. But the first year is a critical year and they do appreciate the extra water.
Joanne, the viticella, alpina and macropetala types should all do well in your zone 3 region. One can never have too many clematis!
Tee, sounds like you're well on your way to a full-blown addiction! I see you already have gorgeous pictures of some of yours in the database.
