December 9, 2018 at 1:55 pm (clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: Clematis Betty Corning, clematis caroline, Clematis Climador, clematis crystal fountain, Clematis Etoile Violette, clematis fairy blue, clematis florida sieboldii, Clematis Fond Memories, Clematis Fujimusume, Clematis Koenigskind, Clematis Lord Hershel, Clematis Morning Mist, Clematis Perle d'Azur, Clematis Polish Spirit, Clematis Princess Red, Clematis Proteus, Clematis recta Purpurea, Clematis Tartu, Clematis texensis seedling, clematis the first lady, Clematis Vyvyan Pennell
June in my garden offered a plethora of colorful, diverse, and interesting clematis, including the last of the large-flowered bloomers, early blossoms from July bloomers, and three beautiful clematis bell flowers, two of which are home-grown seedlings of the dainty scarlet bells of Clematis texensis.
January 30, 2016 at 6:43 pm (clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: Clematis Betty Corning, Clematis Buckland Beauty, clematis crispa, clematis duchess of albany, Clematis Hakuji, Clematis Kahori no Kimi, Clematis Princess Diana, Clematis Princess Kate, Clematis Princess Red, Clematis Shizuku, Clematis Sonnette, Clematis texensis, Clematis viorna
Clematis ‘Buckland Beauty’–beautiful bell flowers inherited from Clematis texensis.
Gardeners who have a nodding acquaintance with clematis are often only aware of the big beautiful heart-stopping, jaw-dropping blossoms of late spring. As one becomes more and more enamored with clematis and delves deeper into the genus, the dainty beauty and wide variety of the bell-shaped flowers are the ones that captivate.
The southeastern US is a breeding ground for many bell-flowered clematis species, which have long been widely used by hybridizers to create lovely new plants. Clematis ‘Buckland Beauty’ above, for example, is the result of a cross between Clematis texensis (a red bell-flowered species from Texas) and one of the other species.
The Texensis Clan
In my last post, I described Clematis texensis and some of its progeny. The species, which grows in Texas, is variable. The flowers tend to have a downward-facing bell shape, usually with recurved tips, sometimes lined with white or yellow. The inside of the tepals can be various shades of red, yellow, or white.
A lovely red Clematis texensis with white accents
A Clematis texensis seedling with reddish-purple outer tepals, white on edges and the underside
Here’s another, a bit pinker with a shorter flower.
Hybridizers discovered the wonderful red of Clematis texensis (also called the Scarlet Clematis) in the late 1800s, and still today exciting new hybrids come onto the market. Crossing Clematis texensis with other types of clematis has resulted in an astonishing variety of new and beautiful plants, such as flatter blossoms of Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’ and Clematis ‘Catherine Clanwilliam’ showcased in my last post. Of course, many of the progeny have bell-shaped blossoms, like the aforementioned Clematis ‘Buckland Beauty’ and the following lovely offspring of this interesting species.
Clematis Sonnette climbing through a variegated Azara.
Clematis ‘Duchess of Albany’, hybridized using C. texensis 125 years ago!
The beautiful Clematis ‘Princess Diana’
Clematis Princess Kate ‘Zoprika’, one of the newest texensis hybrids coming from J. van Zoest Nursery in The Netherlands. Photo from J. van Zoest Nursery.
The Crispas
Clematis crispa is another American species, native in the southeastern US. This sweet small bell flower often has tepals that curl strongly back on themselves. It comes in many soft colors–white, light blue, mauve, pink. The crowning glory for this clematis is its beautiful light fragrance.
One form of Clematis crispa
Clematis ‘Betty Corning’, discovered growing in a garden in Albany, is clearly a Clematis crispa seedling, especially given its delightful fragrance.
Clematis ‘Princess Red’ certainly looks to be a Clematis crispa hybrid, but the color suggests that Clematis texensis might be the other parent!
The Viornas
Clematis viorna, like C. crispa and C. texensis, is one of over 20 species that are native to the southeastern US and Texas, which are all grouped together in the viorna section of the genus clematis. Clematis viorna is just one of the many clematis in the viorna section. It has flowers in the shape of small bells or urns that come in colors like red, pink, reddish brown, and purple. Many plants sold as the species may actually be hybrids of Clematis viorna and another clematis in the larger viorna clan.
One of my two Clematis viorna. This one pairs beautifully with Beauty Berry!
A different Clematis viorna looking adorable on my fence
Japanese Hybrids
Many interesting clematis with bell-shaped flowers have been coming out of Japan for many years. Joy Creek Nursery is a good source for Japanese clematis. Below are three examples.
The fragrant Clematis Kahori no Kimi–perhaps Clematis crispa is a parent?
Clematis Hakuji–another Clematis crispa descendent?
Clematis Shizuku–looking a little viorna-like?
The best sources I’ve found for bell flowers are Brushwood Nursery and Joy Creek Nursery. So, come on–get one of these dainty-blossomed clematis for your very own!
February 2, 2013 at 2:37 pm (Buying Clematis, clematisinseattle, Spotlight on Clematis)
Tags: Clematis Bijou, Clematis Kahori no Kimi, Clematis Princess Red, Clematis Shizuki, joy creek nursery
A Gloomy February Day in Seattle
Weather here in Seattle has continued gray and drab, though day-length is noticably getting longer. Take a look at the photo I just took from the back deck! Gloom and doom. Days like this are best spent armchair gardening (reading gardening books and seed catalogues) or computer gardening (surfing the net for garden ideas or plants to buy).
Personally, I opted to drool over my favorite online mail-order nurseries, especially those that carry oodles of clematis. I zeroed in on Joy Creek Nursery.
Maurice Horn, co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, is very knowledgable about clematis. I once had the privilege of hearing him give a fascinating talk about the history of how clematis came into the horticultural world from the wild, including stories of some of the characters who hunted plants and brought them to Europe, and how some of the first hybrids, like Clematis Jackmanii, came into being. As a result of strong connections to current Japanese clematis hybridizers, Maurice has access to many unusual and beautiful clematis, including little beauties with small bell-shaped flowers.
Joy Creek Nursery
One HUGE advantage of Joy Creek Nursery over some of the other mail-order nurseries is that one can actually go there in person as well as order online or via telephone. The nursery, which is open seven days a week from March through October, sells hordes of plants and has truly fabulous display gardens where visitors can see how plants grow and combine with each other, including many clematis. Joy Creek also runs a Sunday lecture series throughout the summer. They are located in Scapoose, Oregon, on the Columbia River north of Portland. (Photo from Joy Creek Nursery.)
But back to my mail ordering. The many plants I’ve gotten from Joy Creek over the years, whether mail-ordered or purchased in person, have always grown healthy, strong, and beautiful. Below are photos of two, Clematis Bijou (a ground cover clematis from British hybridizer Raymond Evison) and Clematis Shizuki (one of the Japanese hybrids with a blue-violet bell crisply outlined in white that blooms all summer in a pot on my deck). This year, I ordered two more clematis from Joy Creek Nursery–Clematis Kahori no Kimi and Clematis Princess Red. Both have flowers in the form of pinkish-red nodding bells, and Kahori no Kimi is said to have the additional enhancement of a citris scent. I notice Princess Red no longer shows up on their website. Yikes! I hope they didn’t run out before they put my order through!
Clematis Shizuki
Clematis Bijou, a ground-cover clematis
Clematis in Seattle 