Clematis is one of our favorite climbers – mainly for the wonderful variety of colors available. The fragile, dead-looking vines spring to life in April and before you know it they’re bursting in colors ranging from white and pale pink to deep blues and reds.
We have a house full of colorful varieties budded up and waiting to open like this ‘Dr. Ruppel’ with it’s 6-8″ pink stripes or the smaller white flowering ‘Henryi’. This Group 2 Clematis can be pruned early spring before new growth begins or after it flowers and they may even rebloom.
Some others to choose from include: ‘Comtesse Bouchard’ (pink), ‘General Sikorsky’ (blue/purple), ‘Jackmani’ (deep purple), ‘Montana Grandiflora’ (white flowers on a vigorous growing Group 1 plant).
You can extend the Clematis season even further by using the Sweet Autumn Clematis (C. paniculata) – expect masses of fragrant flowers for weeks, typically September into October. The best way to choose your favorite is to stop in and see them in bloom, or take a look in our catalog – you’ll find most of them under Nursery Stock on page 17 plus a description of their pruning groups.