Clematis 'Kathleen Dunford'

Clematis 'Kathleen Dunford' arose in the garden of a Miss Dunford in Britain and was introduced by Jim Fisk in 1962. Its semi-double flowers, 12–15 cm across, glow in purple-violet; with age the edges look subtly mottled and take on a mauve-blue tone. Dark gold to deep red stamens provide a striking contrast at the centre.

Growing up to 300 cm tall, 'Kathleen Dunford' scales trellises, frames and obelisks. It flowers from June to August. Choose a sunny to partly shaded, sheltered spot with moist but well-drained soil.

'Kathleen Dunford' is fully hardy (zone 6, down to about -23 °C). As the flowers form on last year's wood, do not prune hard in spring. For strong growth and abundant flowering, cut the plant back to about 100 cm in June instead.