Home » Plants & Animals » Shade Gardening » Vines - Part 3 - Clematis - Page 3

Vines - Part 3 - Clematis - Page 3

© Marge Talt

C. 'Ville de Lyon', a hybrid from the Jackmanii group, is one I have had for many years - and still my favorite. The blooms are huge and vibrant, if not plentiful for me. It's a wonder it blooms at all, since it is in quite heavy shade, growing up through Viburnum x carlcephalum on my west border. The idea was to have flowers following the viburnum's early show, since this is a mid-summer bloomer (June for me). To a substantially lesser extent than imagined, the idea is successful. This is supposedly one who should receive severe pruning in late winter or early spring, but I have never pruned it at all. As it has taken years to develop any kind of woody framework in the shrub, I am loathe to have it begin all over again. It does seem that there are more flowers each year, so I am not complaining. From what I've read, bloom would be considerably more prolific with just a couple of hours of actual sun in the morning.

Clematis for Shady Places

While you will get more bloom from vines who get the right amount of sun, even the International Clematis Society recommends that Clematis be sited "with half a day of sun or (rather than in a hot spot) filtered sun. Most clematis, especially the summer-flowering ones, like good light on their tops and a cool, rather moist area for their roots. The striped hybrids are no exception, but they fade quickly in strong sun, so it's better to give them an eastern exposure or the filtering effect of branches high overhead."

Either gathered from various posts to garden email lists that I've saved over the years, lists on the web, or from my own experience, the following appear to do especially well in varying amounts of shade...anything from two hours of morning sun to half a day or bright shade, including the north side of buildings. Where you garden may have a bearing on this - more shade will be tolerated or needed in hotter climates.

C. alpina	C. 'Candida'
C. integrifolia	C. 'Marie Boisselot'
C. tangutica (Golden   Clematis)

The copyright of the article Vines - Part 3 - Clematis - Page 3 in Shade Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish Vines - Part 3 - Clematis - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.