Clematis montana 'Grandiflora'

Clematis montana 'Grandiflora' was discovered in the 19th century in northern India in the Himalayas and reached Europe through the English nursery Veitch, where it first flowered in 1844 – to this day one of the largest-flowered montana varieties, as its name already suggests ('grandiflora', Latin for large-flowered). Its 6–8 cm, saucer-shaped flowers are pure white with bright yellow stamens set against dark green foliage.

From May to June, 'Grandiflora' covers itself for several weeks with a mass of flowers. With its enormous vigour it is ideally suited to climbing large trees, conifers, long fences or pergolas and façades – for smaller supports or containers it is too powerful. It thrives best in a sunny to semi-shaded spot with a cool, shaded root run, and tolerates any aspect.

'Grandiflora' is winter-hardy (zone 7, down to about -17 °C) and has been honoured with the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It belongs to pruning group 1 and needs almost no cutting back; trimming it to around 100 cm in June helps guide its growth. Especially in its first autumn and winter, keep the soil from becoming too wet – planting in spring helps the young plant establish well.