Clematis ‘Purpurea Plena Elegans’ (Viticella Group)

Vigorous and durable, award-winning Clematis ‘Purpurea Plena Elegans’ is a deciduous climber with masses of distinctive, very double, dusty rose flowers, up to 2 in. wide (5 cm). Slow to open, the sumptuous small blooms last about 2 weeks before their outer sepals fall away. Their inner pompon lasts another week at least. Blooming profusely over a very long season, this Clematis viticella hybrid resists clematis wilt and does very well if left unpruned for several years. A steadily popular clematis, ‘Purpurea Plena Elegans’ can be grown and looks terrific when trained to climb a wall, trellis, fence, arbor, or any other garden structure. Excellent in small trees or tumbling through large rhododendrons.

This late flowering clematis is a member of the small-flowered ‘summer’ Clematis called ‘Viticella’, a group including strong vines, easy to grow, amenable to training early in the season, with profuse flowering over a long period.

• Blooming from mid-summer to early fall, this vigorous and extremely floriferous Clematis vine won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society for its noteworthy qualities.
• Thrives in moist, well-drained soils, in full sun or part shade. Ideally, Clematis prefer having their ‘heads in the sun and their feet in the shade’. Keep the roots cool and shaded by other plants, or add a layer of pebbles or flat stones at the base.
• It can quickly grow up to 10-13 ft. long (300-390 cm).
• This Clematis belongs to the third group of Clematis – a group including Clematis, which flower in late summer on growth made in that season. They should be pruned in late winter or early spring and require ‘hard pruning’: simply cut back the stems to a pair of strong buds about 1ft. (30 cm) above ground level before growth begins in early spring.
• Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses.

As climbers, Clematis are unsurpassed in their long flowering presence, the rich diversity of flower shapes, a wide array of colors, and tolerances in terms of exposure and climate. It is no wonder they are so popular! From tree huggers to container varieties, there is a Clematis for every garden and flowers for almost every month of the year! Members of the Ranunculaceae family, they include more than 300 species and hundreds of hybrids. They create a ravishing colorful show in the garden year after year, whether solely trained on walls, arbors, or trellises or grown in association with other climbers. They are divided into 3 groups which determine how they should be pruned. Regular pruning of Clematis is important as it promotes strong growth and flowering as well as a harmonious plant. If left unpruned, Clematis can turn into a mass of tangled stems with a bare base and flowers well above eye level.