I've searched through every white clematis I can find and I'm still not certain what this is. This is it's 3rd year and it has just begun to bloom for the first time. The picture is the first bloom, just opened. It's about 5" across. It seems to be semi-evergreen. No fragrance that I can detect.
I'm thinking maybe Wada's Primrose?
Anyway, here's the flower. I'll also post a photo of the leaves in case that might help.
Thanks!
Deb
This message was edited Mar 17, 2008 8:49 PM
Most of the leaves look like this and they are about 1 1/2" long. (and covered with pine pollen).
Deb
But some of the leaves look like this.
Deb
Deb, I think Wanda's Primrose too.
Arlene
Thanks, Arlene. Here's one more photo of it from today, all the way open. Unless anyone else has a possible guess, I'll go with it as Wada's and prune accordingly in future. :)
Deb
Sure looks a lot like my Wada's Primrose, esp in the 1st pic above. I started mine from a small bare root slip. It did 'nothing' for several years such that I really figured it had died. Then one spring morning I walked out to find this dazzling display, the fence post and surrounding area covered in about 50 or so of these huge, flat, white flowers. I thought that was odd how it went from doing nothing to such a massive display.
One thing I noticed about mine was what seemed like a high 'petal' count on each 'bloom'. The only difference I note between mine and your description of yours is the flower size. The flowers on mine are quite large, 7" or more in diameter, larger I think than any of my other clematis except maybe Sugar Candy. Other than that discrepancy which might be explained by differences in growing conditions I guess, I'm inclined to agree that it looks like Wada's Primrose. (Ok, just checked PF which indicates the flower should be 5-8" across so that would mean yours is within range. Ok, Wada's it is.)
9-10 on the petal count .
Arlene
OK! so far, so good. Mine has 9 petals. It sure followed the "sleep, creep, leap" thing.
It's in part shade - perhaps the flower would be larger if in more sun?
Does yours have a "citrus" scent Scutler? I've read that Wada's does "on warm days". I can't really detect any scent, but then we haven't had any really warm days yet.
Deb
Deb,
I didn't notice a scent on mine in the past. It hasn't bloomed yet this year. I did some serious garden cleanup in early spring and had to cut it back severely. It's coming up now but is probably behind the curve. When it blooms, I'll check it for you. I don't have the most perceptive sense of smell - due to sinus issues. I only recently noticed that all those tons of daffodils smell good. Also, mine is surrounded by lots of other fragrant plants like lilies, daffodils, and such which might make it difficult for me to notice anything with a faint smell.
I do think yours is Wada's Primrose. I thought that when I 1st saw your thumbnail, before I had opened the thread to read your guess. Have you seen my pic in PF? Yours looks just like it in every detail. In fact, if you look close in my pic you can see a bit of very, very faint green on the newly opened bloom. Mine is in full sun all day and is on a fence facing SW. It is also planted in soil which was very heavily amended with compost. Perhaps one or both of those may account for the larger blooms.
Scutler:
Yes, I did see your (wonderful) photo.
I'm not such a good detector of scent, either. This was the first year I could smell my C. Jessamine. LOL.
Mine is not in the best soil, and all I've done to help it is a little rose fertilizer in early spring.
When yours comes back to life, do let me know if you can smell anything. :)
Thanks,
Deb
Deb,
Oh, now your sense of smell may even be worse than mine if you've managed not to notice the extreme aroma from the C. Jessamine! That IS funny as a small section of that stuff can perfume the entire yard.
Thanks for the compliment re the photo. I was just wondering if you had seen the incredible similarities between that photo and yours. I will be sure to let you know about the smell or lack thereof as soon as I get blooms.
On the subject of amendments, do you know about the Bee's Ferry Compost? They make it from the landscape trimmings they pick up each week. Clemson does periodic tests to determine the content, including nutrients and any chemical residues, and publishes the test results. (Sometimes the results are available from the Bee's Ferry site). BF sells the pure, finished compost for around $10/truck load. (They actually charge by weight but that's about what it comes to for avg size truck.) Their compost is awesome! It's rich, dark, and pure. Much of what you can buy at home centers is cut with sand, clay, etc. This stuff is pure compost. And at that price, it is a steal. They don't check to see if you are actually a Charleston resident. If you want more info, dmail me. A few years ago I added some 6 tons or so of the stuff to my yard with wonderful results. (Now my yard is a few inches higher than the neighbors'.lol) While I was coming and going transporting my compost, I can't tell you how many trucks often pulling trailers I saw with landscaping service names on them who were also getting the compost.
Scutler: I should probably check that out. Our soil is absolutely awful. It's either sand and/or clay and not much else. I got a truckload of topsoil last spring from a highly recommended source, and it turned out to be verrrry sandy. Sigh. I'll Dmail you. And thanks!
