I was wandering around the garden the other day and stopped to admire the Clematis cirrhosa that scrambles over the broken trunk of the sadly dead apple tree. This is a great plant and one I would not be without (the clematis, not the dead apple tree), and it made me think about how some plants in my garden have their moment to shine.
I decided I would celebrate this by starting a new series of posts: the Plant of the Month. As the clematis had prompted this thought, it had to be the one to start this off.
This plant starts to flower as many others are hiding from the Winter cold. It sparkles in the cold Winter sun and shrugs off snow and ice. It is tough as old boots and a good doer. I cannot praise it enough.
It is an evergreen clematis and gets to around 3 to 4 metres tall. It will grow up fences and trellises and also as I have it in my garden, scrambling up an old tree trunk. It is quite vigorous and yet does not swamp. It is quite polite.
It will grow in most types of soils and does not seem to struggle particularly in drought or when the ground is saturated. It is H4 hardy (-10 to -5 degrees C) so for where I am in the midlands it is unlikely to get killed by cold. (never say never). In terms of light, in my garden it is pretty much in full sun and south-facing and thrives. It is poisonous so don't eat it or feed it to your pets, but it is a fabulous food source for late/early pollinators.
I have never pruned mine, it occasionally has been cut back when trimming the Wild Edric Rose that also climbs up the apple stump. She responds well to a being cut but doesn't seem to need specific pruning.
There are several varieties available to buy. Mine is var. Freckles and it is a good reliable variety. I have also seen var. Wisley Cream and she is very pretty too. Have a look and see what other varieties you can find,
I am already wondering which plant will want to feature in January......
Until then
Take care and be kind.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are approved before being published