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Other Names:  Italian Leather Flower, Virgin's Bower

Group/Class:  Viticella

Description:

This clematis produces elegant purple-blue nodding flowers; a vigorous climber that is easy to grow; excellent for growing through trees and bushes, and is very cold hardy

Ornamental Features

Purple Clematis features showy nodding purple star-shaped flowers with blue overtones at the ends of the branches from early summer to early fall. It has green deciduous foliage. The compound leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Purple Clematis is a multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance woody vine. It is a Type 3 clematis; each spring it should be pruned back to within a few inches of the ground, as it flowers on new wood of the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Purple Clematis is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Purple Clematis will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This woody vine does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America.