PlantFiles: Clematis, Early Large-flowered Clematis
Clematis 'Wada's Primrose'

As Scutler's did, mine sat, looking pretty sad for the 1st two seasons, then this March....Whammo! Large nearly pure white blossoms about 5-6" across. I haven't been able to detect any scent so far, but we haven't had any really warm days yet. Mine is in part sun, in a fairly damp area. So, even tho it was a slow starter, the bloom has made it worth the wait and I'm giving it a positive rating.

A very slow Clematis to start flowering in my garden. It took 3-4 years before blooming. Perhaps, it would perform better in a cooler climate.

This plant (about 3 years old) is growing healthily and producing wonderful flowers in my garden on the east coast of Vancouver Island (Nanaimo is about 135 km north of Victoria).

In 2004, when we were in the process of moving, I took Wada with me in a pot - it was very small and I didn't think it would survive. A year later, I planted it in my new garden but lost the tag. When the flowers emerged this month, I had a hard time identifying it until I found my old tag hidden in a gardening book - voila - Wada's Primrose. Truly a beautiful clematis.

Diana Walker, Nanaimo, BC Canada

When planted, my plant sulked for 3 years. As I had seen no sign of it, neither leaves or flowers, I assumed it was dead. The next spring it suddenly burst forth in a magnificent display, cloaking everything around it in a blanket of some 30-40 huge (7"+), flat, near white blooms, many of which had 9-10 overlapping sepals. It was a stunning sight! I have quite a large number of clematis; none has ever behaved in this manner - either by waiting so long to show signs of life or by blooming so profusely, let alone doing so on its 1st attempt.

Also, while the name and literature suggest "yellow" blooms, all of the blooms on mine were pale cream to near white. This seems to be consistent with what I've read elsewhere. One source indicated that in very cool areas blooms may be pale yellow or even pale green upon opening but will quickly fade to cream.

Literature also indicates that this one blooms very early in spring (mine bloomed the 1st week of April) and again in late summer (I had a few stray blooms in September). Because it blooms so early, sources indicate that Spring pruning may remove some or all of the blooms; recommendation is to cut back 1/3 to 1/2 of growth after it blooms. This may also encourage summer blooms.

Mature blooms may be 9" or more across.

Literature indicates that this one IS fragrant, especially noticeable on a warm summer day, fragrance similiar to sutsuma oranges.