My Clematis florida var. sieboldiana that bloomed the expected white for several years has again bloomed purple. Hopefully this time someone may have an insight.
Changeling clematis
Looks exactly like my Multi Blue so it has me stumped.
That definitely looks like Multi Blue. Is it possible that there are actually 2 plants in that pot? Possibly tightly bound in the same root ball so that they appear as one? I'm thinking maybe the two somehow got combined at the nursery.
I purchased the plant as a young plant (about 8 ") several years ago. It has been grown solo in the same pot for 4 years now without any additions. Since it is not fully hardy in our area we overwinter it in a cool indoor location. No chance for mix-up as our other clematis plants are permanently sited. The first bloom after breaking dormancy this year was white as expected, then the change. I cannot come up with a logical explaination. (Twilight Zone music in background)
I am curious that there may have been seperate plants planted together? I say this as I have seen commercial plants with mutiple plants (Liners) used to fill out nursery cans. I have also put more than 1 devision in gift plants I made when I had to to move a number of old plants. Last possibility is that Nurseries used to graft more desirable scions on hardy stocks to propagate, obviously one could loose the top grafted plant and then it would seem to be the new mysterious variety. I have no certain opinion I just share my opinion and observation having grown Clematis while disaours roamed the earth till now. Lee Sherwood McDonald
That 2 plants may have been planted together in the same pot at the nursery is what I was trying to say earlier, although I gather I didn't do a very good job of getting my point across. I've seen 2 plants come from the nursery/seller in one pot before; sometimes even 2 entirely different types of plant. Mistakes happen. That's what I think probably happened here - although I didn't consider the graft possibility. That, too, seems plausible.
Again, it was purchased as a young, small plant. I transplanted it into a much larger pot with new potting medium. It has grown and bloomed its expected bloom in this pot for three years. Now the change - no opportunity for the two plant scenario. Isuppose a graft is possible. Is this a common practice in Clematis propagation?
Is there no chance that 2 very tiny plants, even if just newly rooted starts only maybe 5 in long, could have been growing such that the stems were right up against each other and the plants/roots so closely entwined as to appear as one even when you were transplanting them - especially considering that you were not looking for such? I don't mean to be difficult. It's just that I've seen it happen before (other species) and didn't notice it myself until later when I realized I had 2 varieties.
I don't know if grafting is common in clematis. If it is, that would seem a very good explanation.