Clematis 'Red Pearl'

Clematis 'Red Pearl' comes from the Japanese breeder Kozo Sugimoto and was long available only in Japan before it became known here as well. Its 10–12 cm flowers glow in a strong red that ranges from scarlet to wine-red depending on the light, framed by a slightly paler, lavender margin. Six to eight pointed, overlapping sepals surround the cream-yellow stamens – and the red dominates the flower so strongly that it reads less as a bar than as its base colour. 'Red Pearl' is therefore regarded as a serious contender for the title of reddest clematis.

At around 200 cm, 'Red Pearl' stays pleasantly compact and fits trellises, obelisks and supports just as well as a large container on a patio or balcony. It flowers from June to August, and the colour and markings of the flowers change surprisingly little over the season. Choose a sunny to semi-shaded position with moist but well-drained soil; the roots should be kept shaded, for example by low perennials.

'Red Pearl' is reliably hardy (zone 6, down 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. When planting, set the clematis 5–8 cm deeper than it stood in its pot – this allows it to form new shoots below ground and recover more easily from setbacks.