Freckles in gloom
Some clematis are happy to take on all that a British winter can throw at them, writes David Overend.
Sometimes the tough-looking types crumble at the first sign of trouble while the seemingly fragile stand up and show that they, in fact, have wills of iron. What’s true with humans is certainly true with plants – particularly clematis.
To many gardeners, clematis are the colourful, big-blooming stars of summer. True, but there are some varieties of this classic flowering family that are more than happy to take on the worst of winter – and come out on top.
And so it is with Clematis cirrhosa “Freckles”, a big name for a small plant that is ideal to bring early colour and form in sunny and partially-shaded spots in even the most modest of gardens.
It’s an unusually striking variety of an evergreen Mediterranean species. The inside of each nodding flower is patterned in purplish-red and has a citrus scent.
Flowering can begin as early as autumn, as well as winter and spring, and the slightly ferny foliage is attractive for the rest of the year. In the right conditions and with the right support, a healthy specimen should easily reach around eight feet in height.
It can start to bloom as early as the first week in February, even earlier than the oftlauded (and the best of the white-flowered deciduous spring clematis) “White Columbine”, whose blooms are pure white and the inner petals, in their tight cluster, are tipped with green.
But this starts to flower weeks later than “Freckles” – sometimes as late as April and early May, although the combination of the blooms and the pale, fresh green foliage makes “White Columbine” the perfect clematis for growing through dark-leaved shrubs and heavy-duty conifers.
Generally, clematis are vigorous climbing plants that reach various heights and spreads. It’s best to prune them back to keep control over the growth and, initially, they should be given support and be tied in to help them grow towards the sun.
Apply a liquid fertiliser during the growing season, and water regularly during hot periods. Clematis are best planted between planted October and May in sunny, well-drained sites.
Before planting, soak the plant’s roots in a bucket of water and then plant in a deep hole packed with plenty of organic matter because clematis are greedy plants. They also like their roots to be kept cool and moist, so put a hefty stone or two on top to keep the soil damp.