How big is the arch that it can take a massive, very heavy plant like a Jasmine? Unless you don't mean Jasmine officinale, but J. nudiflorum... Jasmine officinale will make 35 feet in height and 12 feet in width - keeping it pruned back to restrain it doesn't work, reduces flowering enormously. A pergola is better for this plant.

As for the clematis, H. F. Young is a good one - flowers in May with large blooms, then again later towards September with smaller blooms. Happy in partial shade and in full sun, gets around 2 metres high, about 1 metre wide. Clematis Multi Blue, flowers similarly, little bit shorter. C. Elsa Spath, too, also prune group 2. None of them are truly blue though, more lilac/purple blue.

As far as the clematis always make sure that the base of the plant is shaded from the sun, as the old saying goes...feet in the shade and head in the sun....

Oh dear Bamboo, I didn't know the jasmine gets so big. I have absolutely nowhere that can accommodate it then. I have never had anything to do with one, and loved the flowers when it flowered in its pot this summer.
As OH has spent all day erecting the arch I don't think he would take very kindly to the suggestion of a pergola!

The lady who gave it to me also gave me a loganberry and I have nowhere sunny for that either without a lot of work I feel too old to tackle. She lives nearby so there is no way I can conceal the facts from her.

Thank you for the clematis suggestions, and thanks Loosestrife for reminding me about shady feet. I was also given a tip from a stately home gardener years ago that if you grow the bottom 18" or so through a drainpipe it discourages wilt.

Yes, I've heard that about the pipe too, which is another good reason to have planting at the base, to cover up the pipe! I suggest you just keep the jasmine in a pot for as long as it lasts to keep friendly relations going, I wouldn't recommend it for an arch at all... Could you bear the loganberry up the other side of the arch, assuming you're able to tie it on?

Not sure about advertising on this site but a good place to start is Taylor's clematis website as you can look by colour, height, aspect so narrow down the search easily.

I like The President which has large blue blooms. It's been around a long time and is a good and reliable 'doer'.
I agree with Barbarak, have a look at Taylor's, they are very informative.

Thank you very much for reminding me about Taylors - I remember now that someone else recommended it a couple of years ago. And thank you for the suggestions too.
And now if I can't have the jasmine on the other side i have to decide what to put there instead - another clem, the same sort or different? Same colour or not, same season or different? Decisions decisions!

what about a climbing rose to go with the clem, or diferent clems that flower at different times.

Yes I'm thinking about different flowering times for clems.Can't use roses as old ones had to be removed from the old arch this is replacing - otherwise I would have loved to do that.

You could put a Montana clem. I know they grow at a terrific rate but the sight and smell outweighs that in my opinion. Then choose a couple of large flowered clems to grow when the Montana has done its stuff.

Is a golden hop too vigorous for that arch? A deep red clem growing with it is eyecatching.

Erm, C. montana also reaches 35 feet, about the same size as Jasmine officinale...

If you don't want to put the loganberry up one side, what about 'Compassion', a fairly well behaved climbing rose with paleish apricot/pink fragrant flowers

You're right again, Bamboo. I'd forgotten I'd read that bit about Jasmine being vigorous. In that case, perhaps the golden hop would be too.

Yea, probably, I'd class C montana and hop as pergola plants...

Also Montana only flowers once. As the arch is near the house whatever goes there will have to earn its keep! Bamboo I don't really fancy fighting a loganberry in that position - too much tying in and pruning...
Can't have a rose Bamboo as there were roses there before. Shame - Compassion sounds lovely! Don't really fancy changing the soil though - how much of it would need to be moved?

Plant it with Rootgrow, mycorrhizal fungi, according to the instructions, making sure its in contact with the roots, and it should be fine; available various sources, but you usually have to order it online - Crocus sells it

How about a variety of Passion flower?

Nice idea Feverfew - but I think I like the rose idea if Bamboo's suggestions work (and I'm sure they will...)

Thank you very much. I knew you could get Rootgrow but not that you could use it for this.

You've all been a great help.I'm going to have a lovely time finalising varieties!

Do look at Clematis Wesselton. Lovely open blue bells and certainly not overwhelming like Montana! I had it with a pink rose and the combination was just divine. Agree Compassion is a super rose and The President is a very reliable clem.

Sounds lovely. I looked it up(beautiful!) and it says it flowers April-May so wondering how it can be in flower with the roses?
Another question - Do I put the clem on one side and the rose on the other? It would be nice to see the flowers combined but don't suppose its a good idea...

I'm going to be agonising over all this super advice for ages....

I'd choose a prune group 2 variety for the clem, Steragram - that way, its bound to be in flower when the rose is, you've got two chances with two lots of flowers in a year.

I'm sure Bamboo is right, but my Wesselton tended to flower a little late and also had a thin second flush in late summer when the rose was nearly over. I did grow one up one side and the other up the other side and yes, I suppose eventually there was a bit of a tangle at the apex! I used to take the shears to it and it didn't seem to harm either plant! On reflection I probably wouldn't do it again as my days of climbing stepladders are almost (not quite) over!

Not possible to be 'right' in these situations Pennyfarthing - its all down to what an individual prefers - I'd choose prune group 2 for the reasons stated, but that doesn't mean someone else should do that. Wesselton is a lovely clem, but it is an early one. As for stepladders, I can manage if I can hold on, but its beyond me to reach up with both arms when standing on the top. Actually I find reaching up with both arms pretty difficult standing on the ground, come to think of it... things don't get better as you get older, do they...;-(

Ah well, I'll meet the stepladder problem when I come to it. I got the roses on the first arch we had wrong, too big and cabbagey, and fell to pieces too soon. Really hoping to get it right this time.
Just thought of another question - roses flower better if the stems are bent round towards the horizontal but the first roses we put there were too stiff to bend. How do we avoid choosing wrong again? Will Compassion be amenable to being bent round?

not really - Compassion is a neat and tidy grower, suitable for growing up a pillar, the side of an arch or on a tall narrowish trellis. Useless up a large wall, for instance. You could probably bend the top of the stems when they're young if you wanted to.

Yes, I have a Compassion which I thought I was going to train horizontally. Fat chance! Two that I have successfully bent round poles are Francois Juranville and Warm Welcome. Both have small flowers though and Francois is the most prolific.

An elderly neightbour tells me that the reason my Wesselton coincided with the rose was that I pruned the clem at the wrong time and set it back a few weeks. Heyho! So take no notice of my first contribution to topic!

I enjoyed looking at the pictures of it though - its a very nice one. thank you for the other suggestions - I quite fancy small flowers actually. Are they scented?
Warm Welcome looks great.

Neither of them have much fragrance although there was light scent from FJ, which is technically a rambler but I found it quite easy to control. WW is a climber. Look on Beale's Roses website and search climbers because it does give details of height and spread and scent etc. I find there are so many gorgeous roses and I want them all!

I have had Warm Welcome in my previous garden, sniffed it in someone else's and now have it in my new garden. It does have a scent and is a pretty orange/red. I like it a lot but I can't tell you how tall is grows because I've never had it long enough.

If I don't pick the right one it won't be Goy's fault!
Will look at Beale's - have only looked at David Austin so far.

You can buy it on Crocus who call it a miniature climbing rose. I think at £19.99 for a 4 litre pot it's quite expensive though. I tracked mine down at a local nursery at, I believe, about £14.

Good luck if that's the one you want to buy.

:))
S