Clematis 'H.F. Young'

Clematis 'H.F. Young' was raised from a seedling by English breeder Walter Pennell at his Lincolnshire nursery and named in 1962 after Horace Young, manager of Pennell's branch nursery at Scartho near Grimsby. Its 12–15 cm flowers open in rich lavender-mauve-blue, ageing to an elegant Wedgwood blue, usually with six, occasionally up to eight sepals, and striking creamy to pale yellow stamens. The earliest flowers of the season sometimes appear slightly semi-double, while the later flush stays single.

'H.F. Young' flowers twice: from May to June and again from July to August. At around 250 cm, the plant is well suited to trellises, obelisks and other supports, and also thrives in containers. It does equally well in full sun or partial shade and tolerates any aspect — just give it a position sheltered from strong wind.

'H.F. Young' is reliably winter-hardy (zone 6, down to about -23 °C). For vigorous growth and a rich second flush, cut the plant back to about 100 cm after the first flowering in June. The variety has long been regarded as one of the finest blue clematis and was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.