Clematis: Montana Mayleen, 1 by Carolyn22

Carolyn22 wrote:
Peony8

See what happens with your Montana. I put mine in knowing this plant was not particularly hardy to my zone, however I am a half a zone colder than you are. I planted it by the house with the hopes that the warmth from the house would enable me to enjoy this plant from time to time. There will be years with late frosts that I know will get the best of the flowers, but apparently not every year as this was winter was a long cold one.

I see you are new to DG - welcome. There are a lot of new friends and good information to be found here. One thing I have learned from this forum is that clematis like to be hard pruned back the first year or two regardless of their pruning types. One of the reasons my Montana took a couple of years to establish was because I pruned her back the first couple of years. I wanted her to concentrate her efforts on developing a good strong root system.

My Mayleen is pruning group 1, so when she is finished flowering, I will just trim back some of the dead branches to keep her in shape.

Here is a picture I took yesterday with her full open.

Again, welcome.