Sweetautumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora)

In August and September there is no vine more beautiful than Sweetautumn Clematis. The foliage is almost covered with a blizzard of fluffy white flowers. Growth is rampant at  twenty to thirty feet in one season in both length and width. The flowers fill the air with the fragrance of vanilla. Each bloom has four sepals that are clear white and one to one and a half inches across and have prominent stamens Panicles of flowers spring from the leaf axils and ends of each branch. The vine climbs by twining around its victims. The leaves are dark blue-green and pinnately compound with three to five leaflets forming each leaf.
It prefers full sun to part shade, well-drained, organic soil, and even moisture. But don’t be fooled, it thrives on neglect and can become a weed, popping up everywhere. The gorgeous flowers become feathery, roundish plumes of seeds that sow about with abandon. This plant came to us from Japan in 1864 and quickly became established in zones 5 to 8(9). It is possibly the easiest clematis to grow here. To control this vine cut it back to the ground every winter and remove the flowers before they turn to seeds. This can be an impossible task on a rampantly climbing vine. The seed heads are quite decorative. But you will pay the price of pulling seedlings every spring if you let the flowers go to seed.

Sweetautumn Clematis is delightful scrambling over shrubs and up trees. Ours covers the arbor at the entrance to the fragrance garden.
It frames beautifully the view through our new wrought iron gate into the garden beyond. Passing through its soft fragrance is the perfect introduction to the fragrance garden.

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