Clematis, Early Large-flowered Clematis 'Dr. Ruppel'

I have 2 of these. I manually tie them onto a trellis. Supported on a trellis, they grow 8-10 ft. long. In years when I don't attach to ...Read Moretrellis, they ramble low and mound on themselves. The flowers are absolutely gorgeous, especially if I pruned properly & nourished well. They will repeat bloom later in a smaller flush. Later in summer the lower half does get pretty ugly though--looks like it's dry and dead, but that's normal. If you cut off all the lower stems, you also cut off next year`s blooms, & the vine will have to start over next year. It's said these do well in containers; I`m now digging these up & potting them in large containers, so I can move them when they turn brown.

Purchased a sad example of Dr. Ruppel on a sale table for only 50 cents. Thought I really didn't have room for it, but would chance and ...Read Moreuse it as a container plant with an extra supporting trellis that had been sitting rusting in a fruit cellar. That was 10 years ago. It spends winter in my garage and enjoys the summer outside providing such beauty and pleasure.

Wow, that is a real purdy plant. I think I will get one.

This is a gorgeous flower! Mine is about 5 years old and continues to bloom well here in Cleveland, Ohio. As someone else posted, it wo...Read Moreuld rather gather at the bottom and grow outward than use the trellis to grow up. I try to tie the vines to the trellis when I can weave them out of the wound up bundle at the bottom of the plant.

My Dr Ruppel does very well in full TX sun with a little protection from nearby shrubs. IME heavy mulch around the base is essential.

Clematis, especially Ruppel does very well in Vermont, but it must be trimmed back carefully each fall and we fertilize on an every two w...Read Moreeek schedule beginning in Mid May. The pic I just posted, when it shows up, is going to look "fake", but it really IS Dr. Ruppel on our front porch!

I have had a vine for 2 full years now, against a trellis at the gate to my backyard. It does not do a good job of using the trellis, te...Read Morends to grow away from the support instead of up, and will only grow to 3 feet for me. However, it blooms reliably over several months, and the flowers are large and stunning. It is a show-stopper despite its lack of height and is a wonderful greeting for guests to our yard.

I have The President clematis and this one planted together. The President has about 10 blooms while Dr. Ruppel has only one. Not a heavy...Read More bloomer at all for me.

Awarded RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Lovely blooms. Shorter than some clematis that I have. It blooms from the ground up and also offers some rebloom later in the summer.