Clematis, Texensis Clematis, Late Small-flowered Clematis 'Duchess of Albany'

I live on the old “toll road” to Albany, NY (Zone 5a) so felt like this plant had to be in my garden. It’s planted along a fence th...Read Moreat abuts a very busy road. It has to tolerate full sun, heat from the pavement, open wind in the winter, and road spray. It is an amazing workhorse and comes back year after year in full bloom. It is expansive and gives even the honeysuckle a run for its money. Love this clematis.

This C. texensis hybrid has been vigorous for me (Boston Z6a), and a reliable bloomer, but it's been a small, light plant to 7' or so. It...Read More does clasp with its petioles for climbing, but it is herbaceous here---the stems don't survive the winter and can be safely cut to the ground when the leaves are brown in autumn.

Seems to need sun for best flowering. Works well as a scrambler in a perennial border. Makes a good cut flower.

I haven't seen powdery mildew on mine.

This is a hybrid between C. texenis and C. x 'Star of India'.

Clematis and tomatoes are two exceptions to the usual rule, and are best planted 6 inches deeper than the soil level in the pot. This protects the stem bases from mechanical damage, and helps prevent clematis wilt, whose fungus enters where there's damage. It also helps keep the roots cool.

Blackened crispy leaves are often due to a common fungal disease called clematis wilt. Large-flowered clematis are more prone to clematis wilt than the species and small-flowered hybrids. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/you...

I have several varieties of this, all grown from commercial roots, and love them all. According to my research, the best method of propag...Read Moreating these is by burying the middle section of a shoot after removing the leaves. Leave it alone until the end of the following spring. At the end of that spring/beginning of the summer after it has been buried for the previous summer and winter, check that you do have roots on the buried section. If you do (and I usually do) then you can simply clip the section off that you are rooting and move it to its "forever" home.

Extremely vigorous and blooms like crazy. Gets ginormous and needs a VERY sturdy trellis.