Clematis Species, Virgin's Bower

I love this plant. It is a house eater and has to be trimmed and kept out of gutters but it looks so feathery on my front porch. It rea...Read Morelly softens the architecture. The only time I notice fragrance from the flowers is after dark when it has a light vanilla fragrance. I love sitting out on the porch and just catching whiffs of it. Our vine is 20 years old and in that time I've cut it back hard only twice. Make sure if you do plan on pruning it to do it right after flowering. If you wait too late you will have few flowers next season. This has always been hard for my husband to accept. In mid to late summer he sits on the porch each year and plans how he is going to cut it back to the ground. That is the constant problem I face with this plant.

Update: My "Rubens" is in bloom right now. It is gracefully draping over our front porch. Below it are cherry laurel bushes that are blooming. The effect looks like a waterfall of flowers going down towards the foamy cherry laurel flowers. It is really beautiful.

This clematis is rather twiggy looking and messy for me. Last summer was the first summer it really bloomed a lot. We had much more rai...Read Moren than usual. I have it in full sun and believe it would probably do better with a little shade. Mine has no fragrance. I have this vine on a trellis close to my Carefree Beauty Rose and very blue Balloon Flower.
I recommend cutting this vine to about 12 inches the first year to establish roots and have more vines for more blooms.

Rubens is beautiful growing under the eaves of the patio. The foliage is lovely in zone 9 except for about 2 months when it go...Read Morees dormant.
Even without flowers this vine is worth growing because of the lacy foliage. The flowers are wonderful in the spring although mine tend to be white instead of pink. It may be because it receives little light.
Although people say that it smells vanilla, I haven't found that mine does.
Like most clematis it is slow to start but will eventually grow to 30 feet with quite a substantial trunk.
This cultivar should only be pruned in spring after flowering. Then only dead wood or neatening should be done as Montanas bloom only on old wood.

This plant is amazing. The scent is mild vanilla and the flowers are ABUNDANT (pink with tinges of white) in spring. I leave it alone a...Read Morend just enjoy it.