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A flower for every day of the year

There are more than 300 species with a stunning variety of colours, shapes and growing habits. Vanessa Berridge describes one of the most diverse perennials in the garden

In April, an early rose, the honey pink ‘Madame Grégoire Staechelin’, rambles over an arch in my garden. As it dies away in May, a deep maroon red viticella clematis, ‘Södertälje’, takes over, blooms for the next four months, hesitates briefly in September, then flowers again through October and into November.

Not long after Christmas, the first fat pink buds start appearing among the glossy evergreen leaves of a Clematis armandii on my side fence, bursting into apple-scented flower in March.

Elsewhere, a Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’ fills the gap between the armandii and the viticella, while, at the back of the garden, the strong blue flowers of Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ stand out against dark ivy leaves at twilight in June and July.

There are still a few gaps in my year, but these could easily be filled. Clematis cirrhosa var. balearica, with pale cream bell flowers spotted with brown, for example, would make a delicate Christmas show.

And, for that September hiatus, a yellow Clematis orientalis (with flat-shaped flowers rather like a hellebore) or the yellow lanterns of Clematis tangutica would go well with the rusty red of my sedums and the late orangey pink flowers of Salvia involucrata.

There really is a clematis for every day of the year – and for every style of garden. There are deciduous and evergreen climbers for training up fences, walls, and pergolas, and through trees and large shrubs, and herbaceous perennials which can be grown in borders or in patio pots.

The flowers, too, are enormously varied – small, delicate creamy coloured bells; large, bright star-shaped dinner plates in dashing purples and pinky reds; great fluffy layered doubles in striped shades of lilac and blue.

There’s a clematis resembling almost every other garden flower, including hellebores, tulips, lilies, dahlias, hydrangeas and passionflowers.

A short history

There are more than 300 clematis species throughout the world, although only one indigenous to Britain.

Tumbling through hedgerows, Clematis vitalba would have been seen by Chaucer’s pilgrims as they walked along the chalk downs to Canterbury. It is known as Traveller’s Joy in flower, and Old Man’s Beard in the autumn.

The first clematis to be introduced to Britain from Europe in the 16th century included Clematis viticella, C. cirrhosa, C. integrifolia and C. flammula.

In the 19th century, the introduction of C. lanuginosa and C. patens from China and Japan led to the hybridisation of the double, semi-double and large flowered cultivars beloved of Victorians.

Other late 19th century introductions were Clematis texensis from America and Clematis armandii, C. montana var. rubens and C. macropetala (all early flowerers) from China.

In the early 20th century, the great gardener and author, William Robinson, promoted wider use of clematis in private gardens, and developed with his head gardener, Ernest Markham, a number of cultivars that are still grown today.

Clematis breeding programmes have continued to expand. Guernsey-based Raymond Evison has raised or introduced more than 60 clematis species and cultivars to British gardens, and has a collection of more than 500.

Types of clematis

There are three main groups.

Group 1 comprises the early spring species and cultivars, with flowers (in pale shades of white, pink, purple and blue) produced on the previous season’s wood. These include the evergreen Clematis armandii, C. cirrhosa, C. alpina, C. macropetala and C. montana, all of which should be pruned lightly after flowering.

Group 2 clematis, which start flowering just before midsummer on last season’s stems, are pruned lightly in early spring before new growth appears.

In deeper shades of violet, pink, blues and purples, the group includes the species Clematis florida and C. lanuginosa, as well as many of the Victorian and Victorian-style doubles, semi-doubles and large flowerers, such as the pale lilac, double ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ and the darker purple, single ‘The President’.

Group 3 clematis flower on new growth from midsummer onwards, and should be pruned hard in early spring. The group includes the boldly coloured, large open flowers of the Jackmanii hybrids, as well as the yellow bells of Clematis tangutica and the various purples of viticella species and cultivars.

Apart from these three groups are the hardy, herbaceous perennials, ideal for a border, such as C. heracleifolia var. davidiana, which has indigo blue flowers in summer, and C. integrifolia, with mid-blue bell-like flowers from June onwards.

So what to choose?

For January, you might consider planting a Clematis cirrhosa, which Jon Gooch, of Thorncroft Clematis Nursery in Norfolk, has seen scrambling up a frozen sheet of water from an overflow pipe. Another possibility is a Clematis urophylla, whose ghostly white bell-like flowers are tinged with lime green.

On Jersey, Clematis clarkeana blooms in Judith Queree’s valley garden from December through to February. Its buds are pure white balls, turning into little pixie hat flowers.

In a sheltered spot, the flowers of Clematis armandii may start unfurling as early as February and will bloom through until March or April. An attractive cultivar is C. a. ‘Apple Blossom’, which has a rich scent, and white flowers flushed with pink.

Hard on the heels of the armandii is Clematis alpina, which flowers from middle to late spring. An alpina cultivar, such as ‘Pink Flamingo’ (with semi-double pink flowers, veined with red), is a good companion for the pink and white tipped leaves of an Actinidia kolomikta. Blooming at the same time are the macropetala cultivars, which come in a range of sugar pinks, blues, mauves, and white (‘White Swan’).

Koreana hybrids are also good in early spring. The plants are robust, will climb or trail, and have delicate, nodding flowers. A new cultivar, Clematis ‘Stephanie’, with dainty blue flowers, was introduced by Sheila Chapman at Chelsea last year.

Grown in a greenhouse or conservatory, C. florida ‘Sieboldii’ will flower almost constantly from early spring to early winter. It is creamy white in colour, with a boss of purple stamens, and looks remarkably like a passionflower.

The baton can be taken up in April by the various cultivars of C. montana. C. montana var. wilsonii has white, vanilla-scented flowers, while the pale pink, C. m. var. rubens ‘Elizabeth’, has a delicious, almost rose-like fragrance in full flower. Be careful where you plant this very vigorous grower, which can remove tiles or even bring down phone lines if it is not kept firmly in hand.

As these die away towards the end of May, the early large-flowered cultivars come into their own. Good growers include ‘Nelly Moser’, which is happiest in shade (its mauve stripes fade in full sun); the dark-red ‘Niobe’ or ‘Rouge Cardinal’.

Many of these early flowerers, if dead-headed and pruned lightly, will reflower in September. The Wedgwood blue, ‘Lady Northcliffe’, is free flowering over a long period. Among the double and semi-double cultivars, which also bloom through from early to later summer is the over the top silvery, double ‘Belle of Woking’, which would make a marvellous backdrop on a fence to a border of delphiniums. Going through to autumn, the deep mauve Clematis viticella ‘Margot Koster’ goes well with grey foliage plants, blue flowers and the second flush of roses, while C. v. ‘Södertälje’ can scramble attractively through the branches of spruce or larch until late autumn.

One of Raymond Evison’s new cultivars is ‘Josephine’, which has a pink shaggy, dahlia-like flower, while the Garland collection includes ‘Viennetta’. This creamy-white flower, with a purple centre, will provide a display for eight to ten weeks in summer. If you prune it lightly, and bring it indoors as the weather gets colder, it will bloom at Christmas. At which point, you can look out of your window, and spot the early brown spotted flowers of Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ – and know that your clematis year is beginning again.

Cultivation

• Clematis are generally best planted in spring or autumn in alkaline soil, with their flowers in the sun and their roots in the shade.
• Preparation is important: dig a hole to a depth and width of 45cm, and fork in well-rotted farmyard manure at the bottom of the hole away from the young plant’s roots.
• Mix the removed topsoil with peat or peat substitute, and bonemeal.
• Mulch in late winter with well-rotted garden compost and apply liquid feed during spring and early summer.
  

Suppliers

Gardens to visit

The Manor House, Stevington, near Bedford (telephone 01234 822064 for opening details).

Judith Queree’s Garden, Jersey (01534 482191).

Helmsley Walled Garden, Helmsley, North Yorks (01439 771427).

Further information from the British Clematis Society

This article was created: 5 February 2007.
This article was last edited: 9 July 2007.

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