CLEMATIS SEEDS virgin's bower, Perennial VINE

Woodland edges, wetlands, roadside ditches and moist disturbed areas.
Maine native.

A lovely native vine with small white flowers that bloom profusely in the summer and attract many pollinating insects. Long silky seed heads are beautiful in the fall. Attractive dark green foliage on long thin rambling stems climbing up a fence, trellis or large open shrub

Virgin's Bower is a perennial vine that can extend up many feet.  Its stems easily twin around trellises, fences, and nearby vegetation. Virgin's Bower prefers partial sun, moist to mesic conditions and loam soil.  One can often find Virgin's Bower in moist thickets, woodlands, moist meadows, floodplains, and riverbanks. 

White flowers abundantly spread along the length of the vine, typically in panicles, or small clusters. There is much variation in the flowers; a single plant can either produce all staminate flowers (male), all pistillate flowers (female), or all perfect flowers (both male and female reproductive parts).  Regardless of gender, the flowers are less than 1" across with four sepals that are white or cream colored. These flowers bloom mid-late summer and last about a month.  These flowers are visiteed by Halictid bees, wasps, and various flies.  Virgin's Bower is toxic to mammals, however, the foliage is often used as nesting habitat for many songbirds.

Sowing: In late winter, mix the Clematis virginiana seeds for sale with moist sand and keep it in the refrigerator for 60-90 days. Plant the seeds 1/4" deep in individual peat pots and move them to a 60-65 degrees F location until they sprout, keeping the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Transplant the seedlings when they reach a height of several inches and there is no chance of frost. Alternatively, untreated seed can be planted directly into peat pots, kept in a cold location all winter, and moved to 60 degrees F in the spring for sprouting.

Growing: This plant prefers moist, rich soils and will tolerate clay; it does not grow well in rocky or coarse soil. Water seedlings regularly until they become established, but mature plants only in dry weather. This vine grows well on fences, wires, trellises, or other narrow structures. It will act as a thick, matted ground cover if given no support. In the spring, prune the stems to within 4 feet from the ground for for thick and branching growth; the stems may also be pruned throughout the season. This vine will reseed itself abundantly and can be aggressive in good growing conditions. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.