Clematis

That is absolutely gorgeous.  Could I grow this in humid zone 7?  (and how much sun does it need)?

Very beautiful, James!  

ncole wrote:

That is absolutely gorgeous.  Could I grow this in humid zone 7?  (and how much sun does it need)?

ncole, in what area do you live?  Adding a bit of locale info to one's signature is helpful - others then have some idea where you are located.  It may be that there are other forumists here who could answer your question?   :)

Clematis alpina does very well here but they won't be in bloom until June.  In this area of cool summers, the best bloom is in sun, but they thrive in part sun and even in shade.  
These are just teasers, as the snow is only still melting off today but here are some pretty ones...
C. alpina 'Willy' (with an ex-'Pamela Jackman' seedling twining through); a young 'Constance' planted last year; a different ex-'Pamela Jackman' seedling.
   

We had a massive 'Pamela Jackman' growing in a narrow wooden planter and growing up and over the wire mesh of the cat pen - the vines covered two sides of the 6' tall pen and then went across the top of it (and alpinas actually can get a lot bigger here!)  It was magnificent in bloom, but suddenly up and died one spring!  (Stuart thought perhaps mice had chewed through its roots?)  It did leave a legacy - loads of seedlings with every possible flower variation.  I've dug up and given away dozens of these and still have lots left!

I went to my profile and added Baltimore, Md. and nothing came up

ncole, one way of doing it is to add your locale info in the "Signature" area of the Profile.  Then it will show up at the bottom of your messages, as on mine (see below).  (Right now, if someone clicks on your Profile, they can see "Maryland", but it's most helpful to have the info available right on your posts.)

To do this, go to Profile in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then click Modify Profile, then Forum Profile Information.  At this step, you can add some text in the Signature area, if you wish.

Is anything coming up now?

Yes, that did it.  Thank you!

(Hey, I've recently come to realize I'm old too!  How'd that happen??  ???)

This Clematis does grow in North Carolina so the humidity should be no problem. I grow this one with morning/mid afternoon sun till about 1:00 and shaded by trees the rest of the day. I do think it would do well in bright spots in the woodland garden since this one is shaded by a wall till it grows above it.

I had some alpina seed last year, which did not get sown :-[ I suppose not much hope now? though I will sow it anyway....

Does anyone grow/have 'Lake Baikal'?  I just received one and it is "supposed" to bloom all summer.  Could I expect any blooms this year?  Know hardly anything about Clematis. 

C. integrifolia - of which 'Lake Baikal' is said to be a particularly floriferous cultivar - does have a more extended (and later) bloom season here, compared to the spring-blooming alpinas.  (On the other hand, our season is short overall, and very unlike zone 7 Maryland!)
Clematis that are sold commercially here are normally old enough to bloom in the same year. 

Thanks Lori, this is from Plants Delights and is very tiny so I probably will have to wait. 

Well my 'Lake Baikal' died almost immediately.  I am wondering if I should have left it in its' pot for a while longer.

Interesting species, Rick.

Clematis season is starting here too...
Clematis alpina 'Constance':
 

A Clematis alpina seedling, ex. 'Pamela Jackman', in nannyberry (Viburnum lentago); this one is quite like the parent:

Another seedling but single this time -  same parent - in Dasiphora fruticosa (which will probably get drug down and have to be rescued soon):

What I grew as C. pierotii has survived (with leaves dusted with pollen)... although, assuming it is what it was claimed to be, apparently the preferred name is C. brevicaudata:

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200007591

If it survives through time, it will have to fight for dominance of the wayfaring tree it's under with a 'Markham's Pink', which has an advantage of several years growing time.

Hoy wrote:

I would choose the Clematis for the Dasiphora, Lori!

There are so many Clematis alpina seedlings around here that I don't have to pick one over the other!  I have about a dozen potted up right now to give away!

A couple more...
Clematis alpina 'Willy' (with a seedling ex. Pamela Jackman', and by itself) and Clematis 'Markham's Pink' in a wayfaring tree (Viburnum lentago):
   

Here is more of the variation among 'Pamela Jackman' seedlings (demonstrating why only clones, not seeds, can be guaranteed to represent the cultivar):
 

And more variation yet among these self-sown Clematis alpina...
 

Hoy wrote:

The brevicaudata leaves didn't look much like the leaves of mature plants. Sure the name is right? (I don't know the species, I looked it up!)

No, I'm not sure at all - I thought perhaps the differences could be due to immature leaves on my plant (which has just emerged/leafed out), but I don't know.

RickR wrote:

When I checked my label (and my 2009 records), this second species was really C. ochotensis.  I am a staunch advocate of meticulous record keeping, and this is why!

Rick, despite what seems like an authentic provenance, I'm wondering if that is really C. ochotensis... ?  The leaves look more like C. alpina... 
I realize that C. ochotensis has been classified as a ssp. of alpina but it seems that the photos of it show 3 more-or-less entire leaves, rather than highly divided ones... ? 

RickR wrote:

And I know far less than you would regarding this.

Errr, no, not at all.  I don't know much about clematis -  I was looking up this species the other night for other reasons, and did not see many examples with strongly-divided foliage like your plant, so it is just a guess on my part.  The Wiki entry for this species does look more-or-less like yours, though. 

There does seem to be some dark cultivars of C. alpina and C. macropetala but I don't know about "black". 

Hmm, as I was looking on one of my garden maps for something else, I came across C. ochotensis... I was given a seedling, if I recall correctly.  I'll have to see if it survived and what it looks like...

Any clematis experts out there?

Well, that is excellent news!  Thanks, Trond.  Sorry to cause your clematis a brief identity crisis, Rick!