Clematis 'BLUE OCEAN'

Clematis 'Blue Ocean' was bred in 2006 by Dutch raiser Wim Snoeijer at the J. van Zoest nursery from a controlled cross of two unnamed seedlings, and introduced to the trade in 2014 under the breeding number 'Zo09045'. Its 4-5 cm flowers, bell-shaped at first, open further with time and appear in a rich dark violet with a bluish sheen — four slightly wavy sepals with a pointed tip surround a centre of creamy-white to yellowish stamens. A light fragrance rounds off the overall impression.

From June to September, 'Blue Ocean' produces its flowers in great abundance — the name alludes to the dense, bluish-violet sea of blooms the plant then forms. At around 100 cm in height it stays compact, growing in clumps rather than climbing, which makes it especially well suited to borders, container growing or scrambling through low perennials and shrubs; it also works well as ground cover. A sunny to semi-shaded position suits it best.

'Blue Ocean' is very winter hardy (zone 5, down to around -28.8 to -23.4 °C) and easy to care for: as it belongs to pruning group 3, cut it back hard to about 10 cm in March — it will reshoot reliably each year and flower on the current season's growth.