Clematis 'Blue Boy'

Clematis 'Blue Boy' was bred in the 1940s by Canadian nurseryman Frank L. Skinner from a cross of Clematis integrifolia and Clematis viticella – the same cross that also produced the well-known cultivars 'Hendersonii' and 'eriostemon'. It belongs to the Diversifolia Group and bears medium-sized blue flowers, 5 to 7 cm across, whose tone shifts with the weather between a rich mid-blue and a softer gray-blue; the flowers sit on thin, wiry stems that give the plant a light, elegant look.

'Blue Boy' flowers from June to August and grows to about 300 cm, making it a medium-height climber well suited to a trellis, obelisk or climbing frame. Its loose, wiry habit also makes it an attractive companion to other clematis hybrids in a border or container; it thrives in a sunny to partly shaded spot with a cool root run.

'Blue Boy' is very hardy (zone 5, down to about -23.4 to -28.8 °C) and rewards a hard prune in March, cutting back to around 25 cm, with vigorous new growth and abundant flowers throughout the summer. Like many cultivars from the integrifolia x viticella cross, it establishes quickly after planting and flowers reliably in its first year.