My Love Affair with Bell-Shaped Clematis

 

 A bell-shaped Clematis at the entrance to Chen's garden in Milton, ON. I believe this one 

is called Betty Corning (Viticella Group Clematis).

The large number of photographs I have taken are a testament to my love affair with every type and color of bell-shaped clematis. I seem to find them in all the best gardens.

Marion Jarvie's Garden, Thornhill, ON


Marion's Garden

Marion's Garden

Marion's Garden

Marion Jarvie's Garden, Thornhill, ON

This picture shows you something I like about these types of small flowering clematis: they don't take a ton of ground space and shoot up like arrows from amongst other perennials and shrubs. 

Planting them in amongst other perennials suits them as they love to have their roots shaded while the top growth gets full sun.

Depending on the variety, they can also provide a nice, long-lasting floral display.

A closer look at the clematis in the previous image.

Here is something I learned by making the mistake myself: Don't plant this type of clematis to the side of your plant support. 

Plant it directly under it so it grows up through the centre of the support. This way it is held in place and won't flop in strong winds or heavy rains.

Merlin's Hollow, Aurora, ON 

In his garden, David Tomlinson has a bell-shaped clematis growing up through a large tomato cage.

Merlin's Hollow, Aurora, ON 

Merlin's Hollow, Aurora, ON

I think this variety may well be Princess Diana (Texensis Group Clematis).

David also has used a variety of bell-shaped clematis to cover the arbor 

that leads to his "Fragrant Garden". 

At the moment I have only one variety of bell-shaped clematis (one plant in the front garden and another is in the back garden). Every time I show them I am embarrassed to have to admit that I lost the identification tags for them. 

Recently a friend suggested it might be Clematis, integrifolia.

I hoped to add more varieties of bell-shaped clematis last spring, but found they were a lot harder to find at local nurseries than I would wish. So this year I am going to do a mail order a few.

Here are a three varieties I am considering purchasing from Gardenimports. (They ship in Canada and with a special permit to the USA):

Left: Princess Kate from Gardenimports. Texenis Group Clematis that blooms mid-season with upward facing flowers. Blooms June to September. Grows 10-13 ft.

Clematis Texenis Group are a series of trumpet-shaped, late flowering group of clematis. 

Right: Queen Mother:  Viticella Group Clematis. Flowers mid-season. The Gardenimport's catalogue promises downward facing flowers that appear in June and continue non-stop until June. Height 4' 6''

Clematis Viticella usually have pinnate leaves (resembling a feather) and nodding single or double  bell-shaped flowers that are produced on the current year's growth. Interesting to note that Viticella Group Clematis are less prone to clematis wilt.

Beth Corning,Viticella Group Clematis: Starts to flower mid-season and continues to bloom for a couple of months. Lightly fragrant. Height: 8' Pruning Group C.

More Information and Links:

The page of clematis available at Gardenimports.

More information on the Viticella Group of Clematis.

Brief Notes on Planting Clematis: Clematis don't like to be moved, so choose your site carefully. Soak the plant in a pail of water for 10-15 minutes before planting. Place a generous layer of well-rotted manure or compost at the bottom of your planting hole. The root ball of your clematis should be about 5 cm below ground level. Back fill the hole with soil that has a generous amount of peat moss and/or compost and a few handfuls of bone meal. Water thoroughly and frequently.

I always have trouble keeping the pruning groups straight, but paying proper attention will give you the best floral display. Here are a few quick notes on pruning:

Group A: These clematis flower in early spring on growth produced in the previous season. It is best to prune them shortly after they flower.

Group B: These clematis bloom in early summer on the previous season's growth and then again later in the gardening season on the current season's growth. Remove all dead or weak stems in March and prune the rest to a leaf bud at about 25 cm above ground level.

Group C: This final group produce blooms on new growth each year. Cut back all vines to the ground in March.