why are you asking if i run windows XP???

ken

ps: if you grew two successfully .. why would more matter??? ... what exactly are you wondering about.. other than planting a monoculture??? .. why not throw in some other vines???? .. just in case some clem plague rolls thru ...????? ... vining fragrant honeysuckle..??... the autumn fragrant clem??? .... and of course.. i immediately blank on other options .. lol...

If you want another type of clematis, Betty Corning is pretty large and vigorous as well. Betty has lavender bells and a light scent to some folks' noses. Both Huldine and Betty Corning are type three pruning (hard prune in winter every year.) After the first few years they will regrow quickly to cover the trellis in spring. I don't know why you would need a ladder unless there are some dead sprigs still clinging to the trellis that you want to remove after pruning. I just cut back to 1 or 2 sets of buds and pull the old vines off whatever it is growing on.

In order for your clematis to climb on its own, your trellis should have pieces that are narrow enough for the leaf stems (petioles) of the clematis to wrap around, so no wooden lattice trellis unless you are going to also have something like a wire grid fastened on. I keep trellis pieces 1/2" or less in width, and usually aim for 3/8" or less. So your trellis might not hide much in winter unless you leave the dead vines until late winter before cutting back.

I think I would plant every 3' - 4' along the wall to give a moderately full look, but you could plant closer or farther apart. Plant the clematis a few inches deeper than in the pot, mulch the ground around the plants (though not right against the stems) to help maintain even moisture, and water if the soil stops feeling slight damp below the surface.

(Just in case you want a different route, a response about the siding being "unpaintable". If it's vinyl or aluminum it can be painted with proper prep and materials.)

If there is a chance the clematis will intertwine or grow into each other, then it is far less trouble to select all from the same pruning group. The spacing nhbabs suggests sounds about right, as clems tend to want to grow up, not out. They will need some help with this by way of a support system. If the trellis not tall enough, consider using fishing line or nylon netting to help. IME, they just won't adhere very well to aluminum siding - they need something small to grasp their vining tendrils around.

Because of their various pruning requirements, clems tend not to play well with other vines - it can be a major headache attempting to sort through and cut back what needs to get cut back while not disturbing others. And many other vines are just too vigorous to combine with most clematis hybrids - like the honeysuckle suggested, for example. It would easily overtake and swamp the clems.

Am I the only person who doesn't prune my wall of clematis? Some years I take the dead stuff off in the winter --- others-- I do nothing. They grow right up on top of the told stuff and completely cover it so why bother knowing what to prune and when? I have 5 varieties growing on the south side of my garage on a trellis.

Ryse - I'm a rebel too! :-) I mix pruning groups and am rather cavalier about how I prune! I rarely (can't ever remember doing so....) cut things back to the 2 sets of buds level - I just whack off any winterkilled bits, trim things back to a logical place if they're growing where I don't want them to, and otherwise leave them alone, other than to give them a shake or two in the spring to help remove some of last year's dried leaves. The 'improper' pruning doesn't seem to bother the clematises at all and it's less work for me! :-) It's taken a few years to get going well but Henryi is now growing and flowering nicely into my Chinese wisteria tree, so I wouldn't be afraid to try combining a clematis with whatever I thought might work/look good with it. Experimenting is always fun....!

This has been very helpful, thanks! ESPECIALLY good tip about the narrow support--I knew that somewhere deep in my brain, but had totally forgotten. We'll be sure to provide something good for twining.

I also really appreciated the confessions about clematis pruning. Heh heh. I wonder how often we'll prune ours?

Thanks!

Please check the clematis forum for my suggestions.

I don't have anything to add with regards to clematis but I agree with nhbabs on being able to paint vinyl and alumn. siding. You can pretty much paint anything.