'Duchess of Edinburgh' clematis reviews and comments

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'Duchess of Edinburgh' clematis Reviews & Comments

My HMF:

Discussion id : 70-252 most recent 6 JUN 13 SHOW ALL

Initial post 3 MAR 13 by true-blue

Hi, I haven't grown this clematis. But nothing in my research indicates a "strongly" fragrant clematis. Actually nothing indicates that it has any fragrance at all. I suspect it is an error. Could you please double check?	REPLY

Reply #1 of 4 posted 3 MAR 13 by HMF supporting member

Yes, there is an issue here. This clematis is described as none-to-mild fragrance in current nursery catalogues, but strongly fragrant in references from the 19th century. It seems that 'Duchess of Edinburgh' in commerce is possibly not the original.	REPLY

Reply #2 of 4 posted 8 APR 13 by true-blue

Hi Jedmar, I found only on the below address, a very fragrant Duchess of Edinburgh. Here is the link: http://www.goodnessgrows.com/id260.html Maybe this is the plant mentioned in the 19th century catalogues?	REPLY

Reply #3 of 4 posted 9 APR 13 by HMF supporting member

Thank you for the link. The clematis looks the same as in the other photos. Sometimes nurseries just copy the information on HMF or in literature. The only way to know is to test oneself and report.	REPLY

Reply #4 of 4 posted 6 JUN 13 by true-blue

Hi again Jedmar. I was reading the Scented Flora of the World by ROY GENDERS. at page 158, he mentions that the Duchess is a descendent of the Clematis fortunei. "The only variety, which has been given the fragrance of C. fortunei..."	REPLY