Clematis: Sugar Candy, 1 by DreamOfSpring

DreamOfSpring wrote:
I have 3 of these. Mine have been indestructible. Two are planted in full sun in a SSE exposure where they get full sun pretty much all day. One is planted on the W side where it gets afternoon sun.

I planted all 3 as small, 6in, bare root plants (no foliage, just basically a 6in stick and root) just a year before an accident that resulted in multiple knee surgeries and kept me out of the garden for years. For the 1st year or 2 I had a gardener to try to keep the beds weeded. As I had planted the clems at the base of 2 small landscape trees and along a fence, when they tried to send up foliage each spring, the gardener yanked the foliage up thinking it was a weed.

The 3rd year I just had a landscaper to keep the lawn manicured and edged. He piled mulch over 2 of the clems and weed whacked everything (including the clems) away from the trees every few weeks. During all of this time, the one on the back fence was becoming lost in weeds as no one was caring for that area at all. Other than the fertilizer applied to the nearby front lawn, none received any fertilizer for years.

By the time I was able to get out there again even part time, I really thought all of them were dead, but incredibly all 3 are still alive, and now that no one is yanking them up or mowing them down, they are all blooming each spring. I can't speak to their cold hardiness as it's scorching hot here in summer and mild in winter, but I can tell you that mine have shown themselves to be as tough as nails.

Mine bare huge blooms that are larger than my hand, a good 10in or so in diameter. Here is a photo of one with rose New Dawn - clearly planted before I understood the benefits of color contrast. This is one of the ones on the relentlessly hot and dry Southern side of the house.