Clematis Viticella Etoille Violette
The Viticella group of Clematis has to be regarded as amongst the best of climbing plants
Flowers extremely freely over a long period, fully hardy and as for pruning, it could not be simpler.End of February cut all the stems back to 6/8 inches above ground level, preferably just above a bud.Viticella also has the added benefit of not! being prone to the dreaded Clematis wilt. A disease which can cut a plant down in early to mid season and appear to be totally dead, only to reappear the next year and possibly bloom to its full glory.To help prevent Clematis wilt, when you are planting your new specimen bury it at least three inches deeper than would be the norm, this may seem unusual but Clematis also like their roots to be cool and this seems to do the trick.
The most free flowering and robust of the Viticellas, is Etoile Violette,raised in 1885 by Morel (France) described as late flowering. However even here in Aberdeen we find that it comes into flower first or second week in July and continues blooming till Autumn.
The violet/purple flowers with contrasting yellow anthers are three inches across (flowers profusely)The RHS gave this Clematis its prestigious award of garden merit.
Position Sun/Partial shade
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Soil – Fertile humus rich well drained soil.
Roots prefer to be in shade. Mulch all Clematis in late winter with garden compost or well rotted manure avoiding the crown.
_______________________
Julia Correvon is another Viticella to look out for
This Clematis is also easy to grow, flowers profusely and once again no palaver regarding pruning. the Viticella group just has to be top of your shopping list.
The four petaled smallish red flowers of the cultivar Madame Julia Correvon are borne in abundance in mid Summer till early Autumn.
This climber was raised in France in 1900, although it had become lost to cultivation the interesting and colourful plantsman Christopher Lloyd came to the rescue and rediscovered it some time in the 1950s. Pruning should be carried out in late February, simply cut all the stems back to nine inches above ground level just above a strong pair of buds.
The Viticella group appear to be extremely resistant to Clematis wilt, very welcome indeed.
The Royal Horticultural Society gave this Clematis their prestigious award of garden merit. A sure and confident indication that Julia Correvon is worthy of a place in your garden.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Position – Sun/part shade
Pruning – Late February
______________________
Crocus in the back garden 10th of March. we have clumps of these dotted around.
___________________
Crocus on council land at the back of our house on 10th March.
______________________
_____________________
They are always admired by visitors to the city Donna.
I really like the crocus planting. Such a natural look for the little bulbs.
b-a-g, I have grown so many plants from seed over the years, but never Clematis, I think you may have to wait until you reach my age before you reap the rewards, well maybe that is an exaggeration.
Yes Janet that is the Aberdeen south road, but when people are coming from the south they are indeed travelling north. I confuse myself sometimes.
I have several alpina and an armandii which we couldn’t grown in Orkney. It’s growing like the clappers.
I recognise that road with the lovely crocuses as the one going north into Aberdeen. We use it often…
Alistair – I think my mother’s dark purple clematis is the same as yours but not so abundant, it’s a single vine trailing along a wire on a fence. I have tried to germinate some of the seeds so I can grow it in my own garden, but there are no signs of life so far. I dried the seeds and broke off the feathery bit before planting. Have you ever tried growing it from seed ?
My crocuses in the lawn keep falling over, I’m tempted to mow the lot. Your crocus photos, on the other hand, are stunning.
Thanks Larry, I love gardening but anything that makes it less complicated is fine by me. Good luck with the containers.
Hey Alistair… Great post! First off I totally agree… viticellas are the way to go with clematis… there can be so many problems with the large flowered ones. And those croci… this is something I’ve always wanted to do and your photos are absolutely inspiring! We are headed for the 40’s later in the week… 2nd shot at spring I guess! I’m off to make hyper-tuffa containers in the greenhouse today… had been procrastinating as I didn’t want the mess in the basement… then I realized the greenhouse is very warm with all the wonderful sunlight we’ve been having… no excuses now… Larry
Yes One, those Crocus do make a statement when entering the city.
I love clematis and will think about these to try…I always have a space for another and with your wonderful recommendation how can I go wrong….I tell people if their clematis is not growing or flowering they probably don’t have it buried deep enough…those crocus across the lawns are stunning too…
I’m convinced to grow more flowering vines after looking at your photos. Those crocus are amazing.