Common Name: sweet autumn virginsbower
Type: Vine
Zone: 5 to 9
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John
Location: St. Louis, MO
This is a demon weed! It engulfs fences, shrubs and tree trunks and spreads out into the lawn. If you have the misfortune to run over a blooming patch with your lawnmower, your eyes will water and you will feel a burning sensation in the nose and throat. Wear a respirator!
Dara
Location: Chicago
it bloomed the first year it was planted. the sweet fragrence by my window is a bonus. I put it on a trellis and then when it wanted more room I led it over to cover the ugly siding on my house. it reminds me of an unruly child; it just needs to know what is expected of it and a firm, loving hand. I only hope that after the hard pruning it requires in the spring and after our crazy winter that it will bloom again next autumn.
Molly
Location: Indianapolis, IN
I love to see a fence full of this plant in the fall. We haven't had a problem with it getting in the lawn and have had it at least 2 years now. I agree it does need a little help going where you want it to.
Liz
Location: Northern Virginia
Lovely fragrant bloomer, very vigorous in zone 7. It grew rampantly through a holly and crape myrtle but we removed those trees and it now climbs a mere fence. For that reason, we cut it back hard in late winter and prune periodically to keep it in bounds.
Stephanie
Location: Columbia, MO
Beautiful plant! I grew it on our porch and back fence when we lived in Indianapolis, and I received many comments about it. I even had requests for starts. I potted one up and brought it with us when we moved, and it is once again growing like crazy. So far, no problems with it escaping.
Val
Location: Joplin, MO
Beautiful, fragrant and reliable. Needs coaxing to get direction. I trellis it up to an elevated deck to cover the uglies, and then up again with another trellis. It provides privacy and looks like a big monster that only needs eyes to be convincing. I trim periodically to make sure it doesn't engulf chairs! I cut this back to just a stem or 2 about 3' high every year. NO PROBLEMS!
Ann
Location: St. Louis, MO
This monster has been banned in over 6 states and with good reason. You may THINK you have it under control, but you have no control over where the seeds fly. Clematis terniflora from some unknown source escaped cultivation and is smothering trees for over a mile of creek valley here, including a park. It pops up every few feet and can't be eradicated. I spend a fortune in Round-Up every year just trying to fight it back. PLEASE do the responsible thing and DO NOT PLANT THIS MONSTER! And please pass on the warning. This plant should be banned EVERYWHERE!
Beth
Location: Saegertown Pa
This vine is beautiful and has not escaped into my lawn or anywhere else, including our stream bed which is approx. 50 yds away. Sweetly scented and reliable. Always prune it down to 6-8 inches in late Fall and alittle light pruning during the summer is all it needs. Is NOT a monster in my garden.
rw
Location: Wildwood, MO
Beautiful and well worth the time to prune it back in the spring.
Mary
Location: Kings Mills, Ohio
I have had mine for five years. I prune it back to 8-10" in March. Basically I leave the main shoot. I also keep it well pruned(at least three times or more)all summer so it doesn't go wild. It is beautiful when it blooms in very late August.
Cac
Location: Columbia, SC
It's beautiful and fragrant at the hottest time of the year in South Carolina. I have no problem keeping it contained on a trellis - nothing has escaped for 8 years now
Dan
Location: St. Louis, MO
This aggressive, invasive species is being found in natural areas where it was not planted. It is strangling native trees and choking out other vegetation that the animals rely on. If you have it, please kill it!
Wita
Location: Gatineau, Quebec
It is one of my favourites. It will not survive a really cold winter but even if I have to start over with a new one in the spring it grows fast enough to still put on a full show in the fall. I wouldn''t want to be without it.
creekgirl
Location: st. louis
Why isn't this highly invasive non-native banned??? I never planted it, yet I have it popping up by the hundreds if not thousands on my property, as does the park next to my property and the whole valley along a creek. You can't pull it out by the roots and Round-Up will not kill it. This horrible vine smothers and chokes out trees. Don't buy it. Don't plant it. BAN IT!
shazzer
Location: ithaca ny
Some of these posts must be mistaking sweet autumn clematis for silverlace vine.
TomS
Location: Sioux City, Ia
Plant it for the wonderful fragrance and late season effect (September into October here). Is not invasive after 12 years but we are really z4. Pruned down in early spring, it grows maybe 10 foot. With drought Blister beetles show up and feed heavily. Leaves stay green into January and provide cover for birds.
Danelle
Location: Webster Groves, MO
This non-native is very aggressive (invasive) and is spread easily by wind-borne seeds into vegetable gardens, neighbor's properties, and natural areas where it is unwanted and difficult to remove. PLEASE DO NOT PLANT THIS.
Greg
Location: KCMO
Kill it's an invasive weed. Just as the advertising claims it will take over your everything and then move to the woods as well.
Carol
Location: Syracuse, NY
It puts on tremendous new growth every year and blooms spectacularly in late summer. I bought it labeled C. terniflora. It has not been a self seeder here at all, not in the lawn nor any of the beds nor the vicinity. Plenty of other plants do self sow so I recognize them when I see them.
Laura OCallaghan
Location: Finksburg
This is a highly invasive clematis that quickly smothers large holly trees and smaller shrubs. I would think twice before planting this in a area like the Piedmont region of Maryland.
Marilyn
Location: St Louis
It's a lovely plant that has a beautiful aroma but it takes over the entire neighborhood and then some. Don't kid yourself thinking you can control it. Unless you prune it back so it never seeds it will spread without fail. If it were native that would be one thing but it's not and it doesn't belong here choking out everything. Please don't plant it there are many native species to choose from.
Scott Woodbury
Location: Gray Summit, Mo
This species is showing up on the grounds of (and adjacent to) Shaw Nature Reserve in wild areas. Though it is not apparent in great numbers, it appears to be spreading by seed in the wild. This plant and the other Clematis vine commonly referred to as sweet autumn clematis should be avoided in gardening. It has strong potential for being invasive in Missouri and Illinois.
brenda
Location: East Pembroke
Love this! So fragrant and completely covered in blooms. Starts blooming around Sept 1 in Zone 5 but lasts over a month. Mine has never set seed, maybe that is in warmer zones. A big plant that needs a big space and a strong support.
Shelley
Location: Central Oklahoma
We have grown this plant up a huge pecan tree in our back yard for over 20 years; each year we coax it back up the tree. In our yard, for 20 years, it has NOT become invasive and is such a treasured plant for the aroma and beauty each fall.