Clematis 'Barbara Jackman'

Clematis 'Barbara Jackman' was raised by the renowned English nursery Rowland Jackman in Woking and introduced in 1952, during the post-war recovery years. It is thought to be a possible seedling of Clematis patens and produces large violet flowers with a purple stripe running down the centre of each sepal, the edges fading to lighter blue-violet tones while the central bar keeps its strong colour. With a diameter of 12 to 15 cm and creamy stamens at the centre, it remains one of the most striking of the early large-flowered hybrids.

'Barbara Jackman' flowers twice: the first, generous flush appears from May to June on last year's wood, followed by a second flush from July to August on new growth. Reaching a height of around 300 cm, this variety is excellent for trellises, arches and obelisks, but grows just as well in a sufficiently large container. Give the shoots a sunny to partially shaded spot, while keeping the root zone cool and shaded – for example with low underplanting or a layer of mulch.

This variety is reliably hardy (zone 6, down to about -23.3 to -17.8 °C) and copes well with harsher Central European winters. As 'Barbara Jackman' belongs to pruning group 2, only light pruning is needed: cut the shoots back to about 100 cm in June after the first flowering, so vigorous new growth can develop for the second flush in late summer. In the first years after planting, allow the plant time to establish before it reaches its full flowering potential.