Clematis 'I am Hap py'

Clematis 'I am Happy' (cultivar name 'Zoiamha') comes from the Dutch breeder Wim Snoeijer, who began it in 1998 and introduced it in 2009 as a novelty of the I AM series. It belongs to the Viticella hybrids and bears 5 to 6 cm nodding, broadly bell-shaped flowers in pink to red-purple with an almost white central bar veined red; the pistils are red-purple, the filaments greenish.

From June to September the flowers appear on the current season's growth and bring colour for many weeks. At around 200 cm, 'I am Happy' climbs obelisks and trellises, fences or supports in borders. It likes sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soil; shade the root area and the base of the plant with neighbouring plants or pebbles.

'I am Happy' is very winter-hardy (zone 5, down to about -28 °C). As it flowers on new growth, cut the plant back to about 25 cm in March. Plant the clematis with the crown 5 to 8 cm below the soil surface; this encourages shoots from below ground.