Friday, March 13, 2009

Clematis armandii 'Snowdrift'

Today it is rainy and cold, no work given all my jobs are outside jobs. So while running errands I saw the Durham Garden Center and thought I'd stop by to kill some time. I rambled through the beautiful gazing balls and eventually made it out to the nursery.
Stunned I was by the heady aroma of Clematis armandii 'Snowdrift' a plant that I'd never noticed before. You might ask where have I been right? Given this is a early spring bloomer I must have just missed it, the evergreen foliage does look familiar. The blooms are 2 inches and can get to 3 inches.
Being a new plant to me I did a web search on it. I found it was introduced to the west by E.H. Wilson in 1900. The zones it grows in where a bit confusing, I got zones 7-8, 6-10 and 7-10 somebody please make up your mind. I'm in zone 7 so I guess it will do fine here.

Supposedly it will grow in sun/part shade and get as tall as 25 foot. We'll have to think out where this plant will grow as the woody stems should become quite heavy in a matter of a few years. One thought was the corner of out deck under the big white oak to grow with a Carolina Jasmine we want to plant there. The other would be on the back porch where nothing is planted except pansies right now, it could grow onto the 3/4 inch pipe railing and stair, the stair is 4 foot wide. Or should we just build an arbor for it?

23 comments:

Ginger said...

Ooh that is beautiful - I have never seen one, either. From afar, it almost looks like a vine version of a peruvian daffodil. Sometimes you can't beat the crispness of white flowers!

What a wonderful gift!

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

We have an Armandii in the Learning Garden. It is great in zone 7b.

Lanny said...

You promise its fragrance is really strong? I planted a fall blooming Clematis that was supposed to be fragrant and it has no discernable fragrance, and not all that covered in blooms like it promised. Looking for a replacement.

Michelle said...

Lucky Meg to get such a nice gift! C. armandii does great here in zone 9b.

tina said...

I tried this clematis armandi before and it died:( I was so sad. I of course had visions of it covering my fence. Maybe it will do better in your area. I am on the border of Zone 6b to 7a. Good luck! I'll keep it a secret.

Rusty in Miami said...

I am in zone 10 and never seen one this far south; it should be OK in your zone 7 garden. Good luck

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

You'll, or should I say Meg, will love this clematis. I have a different variety of it, and it does have a great scent. I saw this one yesterday and love the crisp white flowers. I have a picture of 'Apple Blossom' on my blog today. Now I just need to find a spot for another one!

sweetbay said...

The JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh used to have an Armand Clematis at the old entrance. I'm not sure if it's still there. It had an arbor for support and some shade from the afternoon sun. It was beautiful in bloom and I love that vanilla fragrance!

Anonymous said...

That looks like a lovely choice for a gift. And it inspires me to think broadly about which new Clematis to add this year...

I like your overall approach to this blog! It's very interesting reading and I see we have some common interests in the flowers that naturalize...

Anonymous said...

HI. I'm in zone 6, and I have this growing along a fence, in full sun 6 hrs a day, for about 7 yrs now. I've never trimmed it back as it will continue to bloom on old and new wood! I appreciate it a great deal. However, the weight of the vines have never become burdensome or heavy (hence the lack of pruning.) I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Jason said...

I live in Portland and just bought a Snowdrift a couple weeks ago for my 2nd story patio. I have a wood deck with metal railing, and training it to grow up and along so that it creates a wall of green! I'm amazed at how fast they grow. Every day I come home and it's 1/2 to 1" taller! Crazy plant.

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

I have one of these armandii too. Its huge! It smells heavenly when it blooms. I wish it bloomed all year! They do grow big and get heavy. I am always having to cut mine back. I enjoy it though!
CiNdEeS' GaRdEn

Anonymous said...

For nine years I have been cutting back this pesty vigorous vine-like weed. I was amazed at how it would return year after year. It wouldn't die. This year, I was a bit lazy with the weeding, and was shocked to see hundreds of blooms. WOW!

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