Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora)

• Covered in Delicate, Pure White Flowers
• Flowers from Late Summer to Fall
• Incredible Fragrance Perfumes the Neighborhood
• Large Scale
• Cover Structures with a Soft, Fluffy Mound of Blooms
• Use as Groundcover
• Tolerates High Heat and Cold Winters
• Very Vigorous Growth
• Tolerates Some Shade
• Pruning Group 3

Love fragrant plants? Start off your growing season with Lilacs or Korean Spicebush; then enjoy Roses and Lavenders.

Finish off your scented garden by growing a beautiful vine that makes your whole neighborhood smell amazing! Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) grows quickly to cover sturdy structures and delights all who come near with its marvelous fragrance

You’ll swear the delicate white blooms smell like citrus fruit and spun sugar! Wrap your patio or garden gate in their effervescent, uplifting fragrance.

Starting in summer, you’ll start seeing many hundreds of tiny buds develop above the dark green leaves. They’ll open into petite, star-shaped flowers and continue to bloom from late summer through fall.

All season, these vigorous vines create a beautifully mounded bower of lustrous, dark green foliage. In bloom, they are liberally festooned in an enchanting display.

Even after the flower power has passed, the feathery seed heads add interest and texture. Keep them standing, unless you want to control their size and spread.

What’s more…nothing could be easier to grow and maintain with simple care requirements. In fact, in some areas this vine does “too well”.

Type in your Zip Code to see if there are any regulations for this vine in your area. Nature Hills is so proud to partner with Plant Sentry™, an online shipping compliance tool to help protect ecosystems across the United States.

If you can safely grow this outstanding vine, you’ll gain an extraordinary garden feature. Their lavish, billowing charm is unmatched, when grown in the right area.

Of course, you’ll also support butterflies and pollinators with this free-flowering choice. They certainly appreciate the late season nectar…especially the Monarchs as they gear up for their long annual migration.

How to Use Sweet Autumn Clematis in the Landscape

This robust climber needs a sturdy structure. However, the leaf stalks of Sweet Autumn Clematis twine best around narrow supports; so you may need to add garden mesh first.

Install your structure first before you plant. They’ll happily climb up trellises, poles, trees and garden structures like obelisks and towers.

It’s easy to add height, color and a charming vertical accent with their help! There is nothing so refreshing as a glass of iced tea sitting under a vine-covered pergola or arbor.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is especially wonderful growing up and over a garden gate. Treat yourself like royalty, and capture the imagination of all who pass under their fleecy, fragrant flowers.

It’s easy to start them moving horizontally, too. Let them grow through an old chain link fence to improve their looks and add green!

Gently weave the youngest growth in and out through the holes. Although you can trim them back, you might consider leaving a little of the past growth, as they’ll scramble along that without any fuss or muss.

Many people swear by using this climber as a spreading groundcover. Fill a barren slope with a romantic sweep, planting every ten feet and mulching underneath.

This plant is magical on a large property, where it can self-seed. If you want to keep it in control on a smaller property, simply cut it down to the ground right after it freezes in fall.

Be sure to remove the old vine, bagged for yard waste. There are viable seeds in the cute, feathery seed heads and they will sprout in your compost pile!

Tips for Care

This selection was called Clematis paniculata, but the botanical name has changed. The new name is Clematis terniflora and it’s the same showy, scented vine you know so well.

Like all Clematis, this fragrant variety likes full sun on the foliage, and shade on their root zone. You’ll be pleased to know that Sweet Autumn Clematis flowers better than most, even in part shade.

Give it loamy, somewhat moist, well-drained soil. Add a few handfuls of compost and Nature Hills Root Booster while planting Clematis.

Apply at least three inches of wood mulch around the base of your Sweet Autumn Clematis. Then, pull it away from directly touching the stems for good air circulation.

Prune this variety hard late fall to eliminate seeding, or do it in early spring before it starts to grow. They thrive and bloom on new wood, so cut these twining vines down to six inches and remove the old growth.

Keep your Clematis tidy by pruning as often as you like. You’ll encourage reblooming with this easy task, as well!

Watch out for nitrogen fertilizers designed for lawns. Feed this heavy feeder a formula for flowering plants, following instructions on the label.