At the recent Tyler Azalea Trail, I fell in love with Candida and plan to order it. I presently grow and love Mrs. Chomondeley [pronounced chumley], Fireworks, Niobe [heavy bloomer], Violet Charm and several I have lost the tags on. Here is a photo of Candida.

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I could tell you what has worked for me but that does not mean they would work in your conditions but the main thing is to plant them in some kind of apparatus (in my area) to prevent critters from eating the roots. The only plants I have lost were due to rodents eating them after they were several years old.

If you contact this lady at Silver Star Vinery she will be able to recommend clematis for your area and when she mails her plants, they are really huge with great instructions. I never, never, never like to recommend one nursery above another because they are all out there trying to make it but this lady has been so very good that I cannot help recommending her and I think Chalk Hill did as well.

When I lived in the Dallas area, I had success growing the texensis Hybrid Duchess of Albany. I purchased it as a very small liner sized plant, and it took several years to get going. I grew it in all day sun, as that was the exposure most of my yard had.

After I moved further south and did some research, I learned that the viticella hybrids are known for being quite heat tolerant. I bought a used copy of John Howells' book "Trouble-Free Clematis: the Viticellas", and was inspired to try many in this class. These are all hard pruned in early spring, so it isn't hard to remember which pruning group they are. Most are taller growers, and they can be cut back after the first flush of blossoms to regrow and bloom again. They have smaller flowers than the large flowered group, but they are produced in large quantities.

Emilia Plater is by far the most vigorous for me - it has pale violet blue flowers.

Betty Corning also has pale blue flowers, but fragrant and bell shaped instead.

Galore is a dusky/slatey purple color, and has been very quick to establish for me.

Etoile Violette is similar to Galore, but with slightly smaller flowers which have more red in the purple.

Justa is a smaller growing medium purplish blue, but so far hasn't bloomed as much for me as the others (this is only its second year).

Little Bas has dusky/slatey purple smaller flowers which are a wider flaring bell shape in profusion

Huldine is a taller growing white - mine was new last year

Maria Cornelia is also a white but with smaller flowers shaped something like a dogwood blossom - also new last year, it has been quicker to establish than Huldine for me and is flowering now

Walenburg - most photos show it as being red with a purplish back, but for me it only has some cerise in the cooler weather (now) and becomes more purple in hotter weather (mid summer). Its flowers hang downward a bit (think nodding tea rose) and it is flowering prolifically right now on the north side of my house.

The herbaceous group (also hard pruned in spring) has also done well for me. They usually don't hold on to support by themselves, but rather lean on their neighbors or sprawl somewhat. If you want them to have more support, you can use a wire cage or a grow through plant support hoop.

Petit Faucon - shorter growing to about 3 - 4 feet with really lovely darker purpley blue flowers. This needs support of some kind (I use a short obelisk) and will repeat flower all summer even if you never remove the decorative seed heads or give it a second cut back in summer. Mine grows next to Tradescant.

Inspiration - a medium pink that tends toward lavender pink in early spring, and more basic medium pink later. It is a leaner or sprawler, and will grow to about 6 feet tall. It is quite a prolific bloomer, and will continue to flower whether cut back after the first flowering or not. Mine grows with a young Blossomtime rose, and I grow the coleus India Frills at its feet.

Pink Delight - my oldest one in this group. This grows to about 6 foot tall and is supported by an obelisk. It has a wider somewhat bell shaped flower in a medium pink color.

Betty Corning and Venosa Violacea grow great here. These are Viticelli types which generally means smaller flowers. However, they are extremely vigorous, bloom over a long season and have resistance to wilt.

This is Betty completely covering my 8' arbor.

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Venosa Violacea

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Here is Emilia Plater flowering in October ( her third bloom period) after being cut back by about half several weeks before.

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This is Justa last year, taken a few months after planting. It is shorter growing for a viticella type of clematis, and its flowering period was not as long. Last summer was pretty brutal, so I look forward to seeing how long it will flower, and whether it repeats its bloom at all, as it matures.

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I forgot about Venosa Violacea. Here it is in its third year - its year to leap. To give you an idea of scale, the chain link fence behind is 6 feet tall. It grows in just a few midday hours of direct sun, and dappled shade the rest of the day. The obelisk it grows on is between and behind some tea roses.

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Here is Prince Charles, not quite as vigorous as Emilia Plater. It grows on the north side of my garage. The first photo was taken in early May.
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The next photo was taken in early July after the turk's cap had started to bloom. Although I don't have a photo, it was blooming again in September - not a bad record considering what last summer's weather was like.
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Here is a photo of its backside
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I understand loving Candida. It's the only clematis I ever wanted. I first grew it in NY's Hudson Valley. Starting in its 4th year, people would come to my door during the spring flush to ask what it was. I was very happy that I wasn't the only one that thought it beautiful. Last year, I was browsing Lowe's and they had a flat of what were basically rooted clematis cuttings. When I saw Candida I uncontrollably started singing the song I think is from the seventies - 'Oh, oh Candida; we can make it together....' The sales person came over and asked why I was so happy.
I got 3 of them for about a buck fifty each.
The things to remember about clematis is they want MULCH, they're slow, appreciate regular water year round and some, like Candida, are definitely worth the wait!

Where can we buy clemantis in Houston, do you get yours online? They are beautiful, thnx for the pictures.

WOW!!

thanks all for the responses and pictures! don't tell me THIS is another class of plants that all have cute names and are going to make me obsessive!! but oh!! what pretty blooms! (and no thorns!!)

i printed this out and will see what i can find locally. i did try for the $1.50 pots at Lowe's, but no such luck!! wow, i think i'd a bought the whole flat!

thanks all for the responses, i'll let you know what i find!! (wish they weren't the cost of a rose!!)

I really wouldn't suggest paying the big prices. Lowes and Walmart WILL eventually have them really cheap. Bluestone will eventually have them for a reasonable price.
As far as repeat goes, I have lots of clematis and not many of them repeat in my part of the country. Elsa Spath and Jackmanni are pretty much it. Maybe mine just need some more time in the ground, but they are all at least 5 years old.

ilovemyroses, yep. This is certainly a plant one can obsess over. The fact that they take up less space than roses and can bloom in summer (viticella hybrids and late blooming hybrids) when roses are often taking a break is a plus as well.

ibheri, I have only seen a couple of clematis ever offered for sale locally here in Houston, and I do tend to make the rounds of nurseries fairly regularly. Even then, I have only seen one variety of the type I prefer to grow (pruning group 3) one time. Since local purchases are not an option for me, I have bought my plants online. Most of my clematis have been purchased from Silver Star Vinery (Washington), Joy Creek Nursery (Oregon), Hummingbird Farm (Maine) and Brushwood Nursery (Georgia). All of these have provided nice plants, and I would unhesitatingly buy from any of them again, but Brushwood is my favorite for size versus cost.

cweathersby, I don't grow any of the pruning group 1 or 2 type clematis so I don't really know how many of these types might repeat bloom. Also, I live where the growing season is quite long - our average first frost is supposed to be early December, and our average last frost early March - so if I cut a clematis vine back in late August or early September, I would of course expect another burst of growth and flowers before the first frost. This past winter, my yard only had frost a couple of times, and some parts of my yard never experienced any frost at all. Coleus growing on the north side of my garage were killed by frost, but the ones growing on the south side of the house only had a bit of the top growth killed by frost.

yes, just when i realized i really shouldn't buy any more roses (not that i am not, mind you, after all the ghetto is getting underwhelmed, esp. now that i identified some mystery roses as dr. huey and promptly put them, labeled, on the corner with a sign saying 'free roses'...i don't want to mislead others wtih an incredible rose offered, but i don't want to kill them either.) .. anyway, i see where, YES, a easy climber COULD work there!!! and no thorns to boot, it is a good thing they are not too readily available here or i'd be suffering more! shipping costs always slow me down!

Ah, shipping costs! That is one of the reasons Brushwood is my favorite vendor. Dan has a great selection, and his quart sized pots are really full of roots. The smaller quart size ships for a lot less cost than the larger gallon size - Dan can ship up to six pots in his shipping box for the same low price.

I'm in full agreement with plantloverkat's opinion of Brushwood Nursery. Dan has a huge inventory of Clems, as well as climbing roses, and native (plus other) vines. Prices and shipping costs are reasonable & the customer service is terrific.

I have checked out Brushwood, and plan to submit an order soon. Nothing is available locally! Oh well, happy to give a great nursery some business.

This is maybe more purple than what you want, but it is a species hybrid, very easy to grow. It's called Roguchi.
Blooms pretty much all summer. Might even start in late spring. Pretty seed heads in the fall. You don't need to prune it, unless you want to.

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I've had some experience with clematis, but nothing really long time outside of Jackimanni. I prefer Group 2 clematis for the dual bloom season but they take a while to get established.

Others I have tried:

H.F. Young: Soft blue...pretty shad of color with yellow stamens and large blooms...fairly vigorous but nothing crazy.

Nelly Moser: Similar to above but pink/white striped in color.

Belle of Working: Very pretty bloom that is sometime near white and other times distinctly pale blue. Takes quite some time to get established effectively, but does well once it does, although not quite as floriferous as the previous two...more of a quality clematis than quantity.

I tried Belle of Woking last year but our dog sat on it and it never quite recovered. I'd love to try it again, the colour looks beautiful. It is good to know that it might take time to establish itself ...

I have "Clair de Lune" which is light lavender/white and quite beautiful. Pale during the day, almost glows in the evening.
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I also have Minuet, small flowers with more purple on them. Very vigorous for me.
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BETTY CORNING is my favorite climatis. It may not be as spectacular as some of the larger flowered cultivars but is very easy to grow. The nodding bell-like flowers have a fairy quality and are sweetly fragrant (something that only a few clematis cultivars can boast). The lavender-blue clematis also has historic appeal.

Here is what glassmouse-z5-Cent IL has to say about it (from the New Betty Corning thread):

"I have Betty Corning growing on my chain-link fence, where it gets mostly afternoon sun. (On the north side of our house, I think.) This is by far my favorite clematis--if I could only have one clematis, Betty Corning would be it. In fact, if I could only have one plant, Betty would probably win that contest, too. I've started her on the fence of the other side of the yard, as well. Seriously, I think that you will love this clematis--smells great, grows well, and the flowers are adorable. Plus, it's not one of the typical Nelly Moser types that most people are familiar with from the box stores, so I get a lot of comments from people who love the way Betty looks and can't believe it's a clematis."

Here is a link that might be useful: International Clematis Society - clematis of the month (Betty Corning)

Its great to hear from you Patrick!

Makes perfect sense that you would post on this thread since you enabled me to Betty Corning in the first place.

We are a little south of you in Ellis County, the only one I have had any luck with is sweet autumn, lots of small white blooms. Nothing in my yard is babied, just water when its dry.

Oh my! I think I love these all! Saving up for a purchase. Still deciding but everyone I see pictured here are on my list! Thx for the info! Molineux, that Betty Corning is marvelous, I hope I can find her!!