Ok, all you clemmie experts!

[mooie]

Sorry for the horrible picture, but it is early......

A customer brought this part of his clemmie in yesterday to us to take a look at. He said he planted it approx. 3 yrs ago. This year it came up completely different. It 'used' to be a red with white edges and the 4 petals would open and lay flat like normal. Now it opens like this and no further. When it first starts to open, the petals are incredibly hard, almost like plastic. It softens up some as it ages. The leaves look healthy and green. I have no clue! Told him I would get the advice of some experts that I knew of
Any ideas??

[kHT]

Without knowing what he has done different in this area it's hard to tell. My guess is it's an environmental change, could this be a new seedling off the mother plant? Any chance he sprayed it?

[mooie]

The gentleman said that he has two different ones planted right next to this one and he cut them all to the ground last fall. Dunno if that helps any.

mooie

[kHT]

Could it be that this one sent off a shoot where the other one was? That helps and I'm betting he didn't mark them?

[Old earth dog]

Very strange! K's Idea is as good as any.

[DryGulch]

Maybe a clematis interfolia (? sp) I planted a bunch of seed and got about 6 seedlings, in a wide range of blue and purple with petals like that. One which I gave to my best friend is particularly robust with a lot of substance to the flower.

[GrannyNanny]

Drygulch -- Yes, I have clematis integrefolia too -- it's a bush clematis, and needs staking if you don't want it flopping all over the place. It's pretty, and has those four-petaled flowers. I have never seen one in this color, but I suppose there are such. Phyllis