Clematis 'Ville de Lyon'

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' was introduced in 1899 by French breeder Francisque Morel and remains one of the most popular clematis varieties to this day. Its 8–10 cm, star-shaped, rounded flowers show a vivid red with six blunt-tipped sepals that curl slightly backwards at the tips, set off by decorative yellowish stamens; the colour lightens towards the centre of the flower, giving it a lively, shimmering tone.

From July to September, 'Ville de Lyon' flowers with great abundance, covering itself densely with blooms during this period. At around 300 cm in height, it climbs vigorously on trellises, trellis panels and obelisks, making it well suited to smaller gardens and containers by the house wall. The plant tolerates both sun and semi-shade – its flower colour holds even in full sun, while the roots and base are best kept cool and shaded, for example by low neighbouring plants or a layer of mulch.

'Ville de Lyon' is reliably winter-hardy (zone 6, -23.3 to -17.8 °C) and therefore dependable even in harsher locations. As a pruning group III variety, cut it back hard to about 50 cm in March; this keeps growth compact and ensures abundant flowering on the current season's new wood. As an easy-care variety proven for more than 125 years, it rewards this simple care with a particularly lush display of flowers.