Clematis 'Purple Surprise'

Clematis 'Purple Surprise' was bred by Polish breeder Szczepan Marczyński and has been available since 2021. It belongs to his 'Surprise' colour series of alpine clematis (Clematis alpina & atragene) and bears 8-9 cm double to semi-double, bell-shaped flowers in violet with white – exceptionally large for an Atragene cultivar; the four slightly wavy, pointed sepals surround around 15 overlapping staminodes and yellow stamens on creamy filaments.

The main flush appears in May, followed by a second, lighter flowering phase from July to August, and then decorative, silvery feathery seed heads. At around 250-300 cm, 'Purple Surprise' is well suited to fences, trellises and pergolas, up which it climbs. It prefers a bright, not overly hot position and tolerates semi-shade, along with well-drained, moderately moist soil with a neutral to slightly acidic pH.

'Purple Surprise' is very winter-hardy (zone 4, down to about -34 °C) and easy to care for. For vigorous growth and abundant flowering, cut the plant back to about 100 cm in June — even though the breeder officially places the cultivar in pruning group 1, where pruning is not strictly needed. As a plant-protected variety (PBR), 'Purple Surprise' is also robust enough to suit beginners.