I'm seriously considering 2-3 evergreen clems on trellises against our garage wall, facing south.

Pictures or experiences with the evergreen variety? Any known problems with them? Obviously, we've never grown any evergreen ones, so all tips and preferences are appreciated!

Hiya Trish! Thanks for dropping by the Clems forum! There is one evergreen already photographed in the database... Sweet Autumn, otherwise known as terniflora. The pictures are posted here: http://cubits.org/Clematis/thr...

Terniflora is a wonderful performer... but sometimes TOO wonderful. It tends to reseed itself at will and can be very impolite to its neighbors. IMO it's not a good choice for an area where you want it to be mannerly and play well with others.

If you had asked this question in the fall, I would have wholeheartedly recommended crassifolia... but now that we have had extended periods of 17F weather here, my crassifolia is certainly not evergreen! I have one vine that is still green, but the rest turned crispy brown and promptly dropped their leaves. Crassifolia is an interesting cultivar because the leaves have white mottling on them... it provides a great visual interest even when the plant is not in bloom. But, after this year's rough winter, I'm not sure I can recommend it as an "evergreen" variety anymore!

Those are the only two evergreen clematis I have personal experience with, but I believe others in the Cubit may grow some they can chime in about. One I would really like to know more about is Apple Blossom, if anyone here has grown it. Here's a link to the info page for it on COTW: http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk.... It's rated for Zones 7-9 so it should do fine for you there in Texas.

Not that I don't love clematis... but have you considered a jasmine for that location? I have both Confederate (white blooms) and Carolina (yelllow blooms) jasmine growing at this house and both made it through our rough weather with flying colors... still green and beautiful. They both have long bloom periods and the flowers are very fragrant. I typically get multiple bloom periods with my Carolinas. For both of these plants, the vines will need pruning once a season to keep them in check, but I have never had them reseed into other areas... so I suppose I would call them mannerly with dreams of being thugs!!!

Hopefully someone else will chime in regarding their experience with evergreen clems!

Evey =)

Dave suggested Jasmine. My complaint was that it grows so thick, I'll never see the wall again Perhaps the evergreen clematises also grow that dense?

Against the house, they would get more protection also.

Of course, I may just stick a climbing rose in the center, and two herbaceous clems on each side.....I'm not married to evergreen (I don't think).....decisions, decisions!!

Trish, very true about the jasmine growing thick. Come to think of it... I do kinda miss that wall. =P

The terniflora would also grow that thick, but the crassifolia would not. With protection, the crassifolia would probably do just fine for you even in the colder temps. Mine is growing on a self-standing trellis, unprotected, out by the pool. It's received the full force of our crazy weather. I would really like to know more about the Apple Blossom and other more mannerly evergreen clems. If no one comes along to post more about them here, I'll give a few of my growers a call for more info.

I'm no expert Clematis grower, but I got a florida Seboldii and well, it wouldn't have lived in my zone, so I gave it to my sister who lives in Houston and the thing has really come into it's own and is as she puts it is "magnificent." Trust me, she doesn't thrill easily. :)

I've attached a link to it's description on Clematis on the Web.

http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk...

Diann

Diann, Sieboldii is indeed a pretty performer and does well in Z6 or warmer, but unfortunately, it's not an evergreen.

There is one evergreen, Trish, that I didn't think about before. If you want one that isn't going to eat the house, you might want to consider cirrhosa 'Freckles'. It's a really fun clematis with an interesting coloration and bloom. Here's a link: http://simplyclems.com/data/im.... 'Freckles' is an Evison cultivar, hardy in Z6-11, is quite mannerly, and tops out at 10 feet max.

EDIT: Link should not have period at the end. Correct link is:
http://simplyclems.com/data/im...
=)

Ohoh, Evey-

Your link doesn't work

Yep, had the same problem with Victor. This is a Cubits issue too, I guess... When you put a link at the end of a sentence, it is including the period in the URL!!!

The link works without the period:
http://simplyclems.com/data/im...

Is there something Dave can do to fix that on Cubits? I don't remember having that problem when inserting links at DG, but maybe I just didn't ever end a sentence with one before!

Evey =)

P.S. - Well nuts, now my timestamps are showing again even though I didn't check to add it... Blah.

Duh- I didn't even think to look at that.
Actually, the same problem happens everywhere- even in your email. Anything that is part of the http string thinks it belongs there, and the web browser doesn't know any better.

That is an outstanding cross- wowzers!!! I think it would clash horribly with my brick (yes, I realize that is really petty, but still!) I'll think on it...it's the perfect size, I think. That wall is around 10'.

Hmm, well let me look around some more. No need to clash with the brick! The trick is to find an evergreen that's "off the beaten path" and also available stateside (not always an easy task!). Could you let Dave know the timestamps are back to auto-appearing, please? I's like they have a mind of their own! =P

Evey,

Dave thinks he fixed the problem a couple of hours ago, so if it happens again, let us know!

Of course, I always look for the impossible to find things!!
Like I say...I'm not married to this whole idea, just trying to sort out what I would like the best.

Hey, It looked green to me. I just really liked it and I know it will grow in Texas and thought Trish might like it.

I do like it a lot!

Houston is quite a bit warmer than we are, so it is very possible that it didn't die back for her, but very well might for us.

Plus, it doesn't clash with the brick

Very true! I'm going to keep looking for other choices for you. I had wanted an additional evergreen to add to one of my arbors as well, and so I'm looking for sources for a few that I like.

Trish, the timestamp did just show up again when I edited... I tried it just to see what would happen. Maybe it's just me that's getting that? I'll edit this post in a minute to show you what I mean.

Edit: Adding this without clicking to have a timestamp. Ohhhh, duh on me!!! I just noticed this: the default now is to ADD the timestamp rather than the other way around.

In the words of Saturday Night Live... "Nevermind!"

Not just you, Dave said something about the something not seeing the something and the thingamajig wasn't talking to the doodad.... *glazed over eyes smilie*

But I'm glad to see it's working now!

I was browsing around on some clem sites (including simplyclems.com) and saw that even some of the evergreens should be pruned to the ground in the spring.
Sooooo....since the wall is going to be nekkid for a time anyway, I might just go with one that dies back every winter.

Or not

Well, some of the evergreens do not require pruning. I've found some really nice evergreens, but am having trouble finding stateside sources. 'Lansdowne Gem' is a great example. It's a red sport of 'Freckles' ... really nice clem that doesn't have to be heavy pruned. But, I can only find sources in the U.K. and New Zealand. I may be able to get it barerooted though. I've got some new contacts where that seems more a possibility these days. Do you have any color scheme you're looking for? I have to admit, sometimes I really love the "thrill of the hunt" when it comes to the hard-to-find ones! =P

My brick is a sort of pinky/peachy color. Just about every pink looks really bad against it.

Red is my fav color, but I'm not sure if red will clash. I'm thinking probably, though...I'll mosey out there tomorrow and see how it looks. Otherwise, red will have to go somewhere else in "phase II"!

Whites and purples would work perfectly.

I normally wouldn't worry about clashing with the brick, but this is literally right against it...maybe I'm still in building-a-new-house-over-analyzing-everything mode. Maybe it wouldn't matter at all???

Trish, you're starting from scratch with your dream house. OF COURSE you should get what you want rather than settling!

Okay, I found cartmanii 'Avalanche' at one of the wholesalers, so it CAN be found stateside. Here's a link to the San Marcos listing:
http://www.sanmarcosgrowers.co...

Still looking... I love a hunt!

Joy Creek has 'Wisley Cream'... =)

http://www.joycreek.com/150-34...