Clematis 'Remembrance'

Clematis 'Remembrance' arose in 2001 at the English nursery New Leaf Plants, where Peter Hoddinott spotted a shoot with unusually dark flowers on a 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' – a bud sport that he propagated. Its name, meaning remembrance, is meant to recall what one does not wish to forget. The flowers measure 10–12 cm and glow in deep raspberry red to raspberry pink; the six broad, pointed sepals overlap, have a distinctly textured surface with crimped margins and are very pale pink on the reverse. Pale yellow filaments with yellow anthers add a light accent at the centre.

At around 250 cm, 'Remembrance' climbs reliably up trellises, obelisks and other supports and is a lovely companion for climbing roses. It flowers from July to September, when many other clematis have already finished. The cultivar thrives in any position – from sun to shade – and, if pruned hard, can also be grown in a large container on the patio. Choose a moist but well-drained soil.

'Remembrance' is reliably hardy (zone 6, down to about -23 °C). Since the flowers form on new wood, cut the plant back hard to about 25 cm in March – this encourages vigorous growth and abundant flowering. When planting, set the root ball about 5–8 cm deeper than it stood in the pot so that the plant produces strong shoots from the base.