Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

Hi Folks, going back to one of my very first photographs in my collection of the purple Clematis, the name of which has baffled us all. I am a very methodical person and written down everything I plant and where I plant it. I think I explained that in my rejuvinating programme, I cut off the three thick stumps of what I thought was a pink montana at the spot where I had planted it, to find that my Beautiful purple Clematis died. (Just hope the stump grows again!) but looking back on some old photpgraphs now I can see the stem of my Pink Montan three stems and spreading in both directions along the fence exactly where my purple one in the later years cascades. The strange thing is the Pink Montan has dissapeared, unusual for a montana to go from such a robust plant to dissapear, not in the montana way of things. My records show no other Clematis planted in this particular spot, it is not any of the Clematis that I have listed that I have purchased, and the three stems I cut off are exactly as the Montana show in my photograph! Is is possible for the Montana to have reverted over the years to a throw back from which it was bred? The purple one is every bit as prolific as the Montanas. This is a big ? for you specialist gardeners!!!! and one I am so desperately interested in finding the answer to. The other point is in the photo of the purple one which can be seen in my photos file I was conviced the root of it was behind the Euphobia, but that turned out to be the root of another red Clematis which showes itself amongst the Purple at a differnt time.

• 26 Oct, 2008