I can't seem to get seeds from clematis

[Véronique Macrelle]

I can't seem to get seeds from clematis.
 I would however like to be able to offer them for exchange.
  most of my botanical Clematis, such as C. cirrhosa, C. songarica, C. fremontii, C. viticella, .C.armandii do not produce seeds, .. do they need cross pollination, or well should we use the brush? is there a technique?
 even for C. stans i only got one seed head this year.
 is it because insects are becoming too rare?

Can someone tell me if the pollen is ripe before pistil or vice versa?

[Giles]

At my old house, a neighbour had a solitary Clematis cirrhosa growing on a chain link fence, and I seemed to spend my life pulling up the
seedlings - which came up everywhere - so it seems very strange.
In my childhood home we had a tangutica and a macropetala and they both self seeded freely too.

[rob krejzl]

Veronique,

In "Clematis the Genus" by Grey-Wilson,  he says that the stigmas are generally fully receptive by the time the anthers have shed their pollen, so protandry.

[Lesley Cox]

I find most of the yellow-flowered species set seed copiously but others usually don't. I have single plants of all except one so don't have the cross-pollinate option. None of the viticella forms sets seed at all. Montana does but I'd rather it didn't! Occasional species such as the NZ native C. marmoraria have male and female flowers on separate plants so you need both to get seed. Ideally they'd be available from nurseries as sexed pairs!

Every time I see it listed I apply for seed of C. columbiana tenuiloba 'Ylva' and the results so far are disappointing. the first time there was nothing at all in the packet, then twice only flat, infertile seeds and in January 2018 SRGC sent 3 seeds which were plump and apparently of good quality but so far, Nov. 2020, nothing has germinated. I am a patient person generally but almost 3 years and still nothing seems to be at the boundaries of a reasonable wait time for Ranunculaceae. Having said that I had 3 nice plants in a group of C. fusca in its dwarf form until eaten to the roots by one or more rabbits in 2019. I had sown very fresh seed in both 2016 and 2017, sown literally from the plant straight into pots, yet it is only this immediately past winter of 2020 June-August, that seedlings have appeared. But seed of C. hirsutissima sent to me from Lincolnshire in, I think 2018, (need to check the label) started to germinate within 3 months and continued to do so for a year except in darkest winter. 

I am reminded of that song from "The King and I," sung in the film by Yul Brynner. "Is a Puzzlement" applies to clematis seed as well as to whatever was bothering him at the time

[Véronique Macrelle]

It's true that it's hard to germinate, but I can't help but order it from the srgc exchange when I can.!
I have had some results since I treated with ga3, but still in small quantities.
 with a friend, we did an experiment: to divide a generous packet of ga3-treated Clematis hexapetala seeds into 2:
 he sowed them in pots and put them sown warm and they sprouted immediately.
 (it was in January) I put them in the cold greenhouse, and I got nothing! we'll see this year.

 many pots remain empty, it is true. there is still to be experimented.
once I got 2 seed heads on C. viticella (on a very large number of flowers), I wonder if they were hybridized ....

 .

it is a plant that I love because it is 100 years old or more, coming from my grandparents' farm.

[ian mcdonald]

I used to buy Clematis seed from the Clematis Society stand at the Harrogate Spring Show. Sometimes the seed germinated, sometimes not.