Clematis 'HUDSON RIVER'

Clematis 'Hudson River' was raised in 2006 at the Dutch nursery van Zoest Beheer BV in Boskoop: breeders Wim Snoeijer and Jan van Zoest selected it from two unnamed seedlings in a breeding programme aimed at a hardy, semi-climbing cultivar with an unusual flower colour. Its 5–8 cm flowers glow violet-blue, appear dark greyish-shaded when young, and carry violet-based, creamy-white filaments with bright yellow connectives – a striking, uncommon shade among clematis.

From June to September, 'Hudson River' flowers abundantly and for a long period. At around 150 cm it stays more compact than many clematis and suits smaller gardens, containers and supports such as obelisks and trellises well. Because its stems are semi-climbing and do not cling on their own, it grows best with light support or alongside shrubs and roses it can scramble through.

'Hudson River' is reliably hardy (zone 6, down to about -23 °C) and easy to grow. Cut the plant back hard to about 10 cm in March – as is typical for pruning group 3 clematis – and it reliably resprouts in spring, flowering on the current year's growth.