Vines are amazing plants. With their ability to either climb vertically or spread horizontally, they enable us to create many-layered interest in our gardens. If you've avoided using vines because you think they can get out of hand and become weedy pests, think again. While this is true of some, it's also true of many garden-worthy plants that none of us would be without. With some exceptions, weediness is not a characteristic of Clematis, the Queen of the twining vines.
The Queen Of The Twiners
Correctly pronounced Klem 'a-tis (from the Greek 'klema', meaning a vine or branch), Clematis belong to the Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family, along with anemones and peonies. There are over two hundred species of these perennial herbs and woody vines, plus hundreds of hybrids and cultivars. Found in temperate zones around the world, there are many who are native to the US. Most of them are deciduous. Of the few evergreen, Clematis armandii , the (Armand Clematis), is one of the most desirable, if you garden in a warm climate. It is very marginally hardy in my area, although it can be grown in the District of Columbia, only twenty miles from me. All the hot air generated in the city by our governing bodies (plus the masonry and concrete) make DC a full zone warmer than my garden.
Most folks probably think of the huge flowered hybrids when Clematis are mentioned, but there are many lovely species in cultivation that should not be overlooked. Most of the species have smaller flowers in greater quantity than the large flowered hybrids, often bell-shaped, like Clematis rehderiana - plus they're often fragrant.
Actually, Clematis flowers don't have petals, the colorful petals we enjoy are really sepals surrounding the insignificant true flowers. Some open wide and flat (the large flowered hybrids, in particular) and some, like Clematis texensis, a US native, barely open at all...but the vibrant color makes up for this.
I haven't begun to collect Clematis, although I grow a half dozen of them and lust for more. One of the species that I do have is Clematis integrifolia, native to central Europe and Asia. Unlike the large flowered hybrids, familiar to most of us, this is a truly herbaceous species, dying down to the ground each winter in cold climates. In spring, the roots send forth an increasing number stems each year, who do not climb, but weave their two foot (60 cm) lengths amongst their neighbors. The tiny (one and half to two inches [3.8 - 5 cm]) nodding bell-flowers come in late spring - early summer for me and, if deadheaded or headed back, again in late summer. Flowers normally in the blue range, but there's a white form, 'Alba' and cultivars, such as 'Rosea' come in pink. Typical, silky seedheads follow the flowers in autumn.
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