Need clematis recommendation

Very frustrated here in Hood River, Oregon! Zone 8
I have two large white pillars on the front of my house. They are about 20' tall. I painted chickenwire white and wrapped it around the pillars so I could have a clematis climb up the pillars for a beatufiul display.

I planted 4 Niobe (2 for each pillar). I think they had clematis wilt because they lived for a short time, then wilted to the ground. I dug them up and planted 4 "The President". Same exact results. I cried. Then, I bought 4 "Kermesia" and planted them. They lived, but have not thrived. I have had them for 2 years. They grow about 4' then stop. They hardly flower, maybe 10 flowers total all year. I as so tired of looking at the chickenwire! It was a pain to install! This past spring I planted black-eyed susan vines in addition to the Kermesia. They grew about 12'.

I want a vine they will grow at least 18-20', have enough foliage to cover the pillars and flower as long as possible. My front garden is red, blue and yellow so I need to stick to one of those colors.

Any advice? Please? I am open to anything... they don't have to be clematis...

how about a climbing tea rose? your yard is absolutely beautiful!!

Yes I am following you. Beautiful yard!!! I wis h I could have tulips. I am sure Jeanne will chekc in soon with recommendations on a clematis to go along with the climbing tea rose :o)

Thank you for the compliments. This is a spring picture. In summer, I have red roses, gold coreposis and blue convulvulous and plumbago.

Wow do you have any summer pictures? I wish mine would look that well organized but that would require me to also be that organized.

your garden must be a treasure to walk......i was thinking you may be able to put passion flower on your columns but that might be larger than what you are looking for

would love to see more pictures

Here is a summer picture. Looking at it, I am reminded that I didn't pull a Tree Peony that I wanted to move this Fall! Shoot! It is hot pink (not red like it was labeled) and it clashes with everything in May!

That is beautiful!!! I wish we could grow peonies here. They do not like our weather . I know a couple of people who are trying though.

Beautiful yard !!! How lovely, I've had clems take a few years to really be showstoppers, but right in front thats more difficult to wait. Have you tried an evergreen clem? They really flower like crazy and stay green, I have snowdrift and apple blossom, they seem to take off quickly.

: ) Jeanne is the expert, tho - she'll have fantastic advice.

Your house and gardens are beautiful! You should be very proud of both!

As for problems with growing your Clematis, several important questions come to mind. First, where did you purchase them from? How big was their root systems when you planted them? What amendments did you add to the soil where they were planted? What time of the year were they planted? How often did you water them? What type of sun exposure (North, South, East or West)?

We'll try to figure out what happened to your Clematis once we have more information.

it is my understanding that clematis are a twining vine. with that said i don't see how it can twine around the stone pillar and i'm sure that they have limits on how wide they will twine. a rose will have to be tied unless it is a pillar rose, but they pretty much just grow straight up. ivy might work better.

It sounds like there is chickenwire placed around the pillars, which they could twine up.

The majority of Clematis do twine. However, the integrifolias do not. Some are more bush like and others will act like ground covers.

Ggrrrr, C.O.T.W. is not letting me copy & past the link. Therefore, type the word integrifolia in their picture search engine and you will get lots of different not twining choices or any other Clematis you wish to see! Try it!! It's a great feature!!!

http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clempiclist.cfm

Yes, do look into the database recommended. Most of the large flowered clematis don't grow as tall as you'd like, and these are the ones that would be blooming May-September, for the most part. It's also not uncommon for the LF clematis to wilt, though still be alive underground, waiting for enough energy to send up more shoots, and as it grows more mature below ground, this happens more often. Did you give Niobe and The Prez another year or so to send up additional shoots?

Another clue was that Kermesina, a vigorous grower, topped out at 4'. This implies that the plants you purchased might have been immature, as was suggested. Two year old transplants will give moderate results their first year (improving as time goes on), but one year old plants will barely do anything - just like you described. There are various good web nurseries for clematis that sell 2 year old plants - Silver Star, Joy Creek (both near you), Chalk Hill (CA), Brushwood (east coast).

First, I would give Kermesina another year. Is your soil good and well-draining? If so, good; otherwise this may be an issue. Second, which direction does your house face? If it's north, the lack of sun could be a problem. If not, the other directions are good enough, though south is best (full sun).

I would advise keeping pruning types the same (some you rarely prune, others you chop down each year). For that height, you'll narrow your choices, but for the type 3's (cut down each year):

BLUE - none are really blue, just shades of blue/purple:

Ascotiensis - slow to start, purplish
Dorothy Walton - slow to start, blue-ish but mottled
Blue Belle - purplish but an easy grower
Chatsworth - blue on blue, easy
Dominika - blue, easy
Prince Charles - blue, easy
Emilia Plater - blue, easy
Perle d'Azur - blue-ish, slow to start

RED (none really red, closer to pink or maroon):

Rouge Cardinal - easy, red/pink
Södertälje - same

YELLOW (some tanguticas can be invasive; I'd check with nursery first):

Golden Harvest
akeboides
Bill MacKenzie
serratifolia
tangutica and its hybrids
buchaniana
rhederiana

Type 2's that you only need to trim off dead vines:

BLUE (disclaimer again):

Elsa Spath
Lasurstern
Frankie
Mrs. Cholmondeley

There aren't any type 2 reds or yellows (yet!).

Clematis Broughtan Star (Montana 1) will get tall enough to cover your cages and they bloom early spring and can bloom again in the fall
http://plants.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/1881/1?RA=tiscali
While they are pink, I think that they would be fine with your color scheme as the purple tulips work in very well.

This is a Rubens which is white and is grown across a 16 foot space under the eaves on my patio. Here the foliage is only gone from December until February and it blooms in April. I wouldn't recommend Rubens though because it is susceptible to mealy bugs - what a royal pain.

Here are a list of other Montanas which will work for you but they really only bloom in the spring. I think that they are worth growing. Most of them get bigger than Broughtan Star.
http://www.chalkhillclematis.com/nursery_shop/montana.htm

Thank you so much for all of the information. To answer a couple of your questions: I am in Zone 6 (I had a typo in my first post). The pillars face south and my soil is fast draining.

The only reason I went with a viticella is because my nursery told me they are pretty resistant to wilt, which they said, is going to be in my soil forever. I will give viticella another year, but it is so lackluster and the flowers were so few that they were insignificant. I want something with BIG flowers and a long bloom time...

I am going to research some of your suggestions and see if any of those plants will meet my needs.

Thank you so----o much.

Here is a picture of one of my tree peonies!

Well, your tree peony is certainly lovely. I believe that you can grow any of the pruning type 3 cultivars without too much fear of wilt. It's the type 2's that are tricky I think. It is still hard to get a type 3 that will grow that high. Most of them are below 10 feet.

Lincoln Rose: Hang in there for another season. Clematis (like fine wine) improve with age. All the action is happening below the ground. The root system is getting larger, it will produce more blooms each year and if you feed it with a good Rose fertilizer, it will reward you with larger and more abundant flowers! Feed it in the Spring, before the growth starts, and give it more mulch too. Repeat the feeding & mulching again after it flowers. When it finishes flowering, cut it back to approximately 12-18" above the ground. That will encourage more root development, which will ultimately give you more flowers. Be patient and you will be rewarded!

Choosing a viticella variety was indeed an excellent suggestion, as they are resistant to Clematis Wilt.

Your's Peony is beautiful! Such a rich dark color!! Beautiful!!

Best wishes for the New Year!

Please try Silver Star Viney for your clematis - a top watchdog company in WA - Debbie is WONDERFUL and her plants are HUGE. She can answer all of your questions. Her most accomplishment was a huge award - a clematis has been named after her - due to her long hard work in the Clematis world.

http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=3457

AMAZING to have a flower named after you.

Kathy