Clematis Species, Drummond's Clematis, Virgin Bower Vine

I live in southern Arizona. This plant voluntarily showed up several years ago along a fence. I didn't tend it and in fact tried to chop ...Read Moreit out a few times. I guess you could say it 'grew' on me, because I have come to really appreciate it. It will do okay with no supplemental water, but give it some and it really takes off and is a beautiful, quick-growing vine; excellent for view blocking. It's one of the first things to start turning green around here and one of the last to go dormant. It flowers for several months. My 25 year old Japanese Honeysuckle is on its way out and I've decided to replace it with this if I can propagate it. It's supposed to spread easily, but here where I'm at it hasn't, so if you're in a dry climate it probably won't be invasive.

(San Antonio, Tx.)
Other common names virgin's-bower, Texas virginsbower, barbas de chivato, and Texas old man's beard
This...Read More is a climbing, semi-woody perennial vine that has numerous small (.8 inches across) white to creamy colored blooms.It grows prolifically and some consider it an invasive weed. It is a native to Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Oklahoma and Texas. The butterfly, fatal metalmark, likes its nectar which is not very strong. I love this vine and played with the seeds as a child ... and still do! My family did not know its name so we called it "the feather vine". Seeing these vines with seeds in the fall brings back fond memories of my youth, barefoot and carefree, spent in the country until urban sprawl surrounded my childhood place of residence. The vines usually can be found on fences, along riverbanks and roadsides or in yards covering other plants if not kept under control. Clematis vitalba is also called "Old Man's Beard" and "traveler's joy". It has much larger leaves and the seeds are enmeshed in much more of a cottony looking ball (in the photos I have seen, it is not as feathery).