Clematis 'Kacper'

Clematis 'Kacper' was raised by lay brother Stefan Franczak in Poland, who grew it in 1970, saw its first flowers in 1976 and introduced it in 1982. It was named after Caspar, one of the Three Wise Men, and also after the raiser's father, who shared the same name. The 15–20 cm flowers glow in deep purple, each of the six to eight tepals carrying a darker central bar, with pale filaments and violet-brown to reddish anthers.

Reaching around 300 cm, 'Kacper' climbs well on trellises, fences, pergolas and obelisks, and also thrives in a large container. In our conditions it flowers continuously from July to September on the current season's growth. It performs best in a sunny to semi-shaded, wind-sheltered spot away from scorching midday sun.

'Kacper' is reliably hardy (zone 6, to about -23 °C). After the first flowering, cut the plant back to about 100 cm in June; in early spring it is enough to remove dead and weak shoots.