Clematis 'Viva Polonia'

Clematis 'Viva Polonia' was bred by Polish nurseryman Szczepan Marczyński in Pruszków near Warsaw and introduced in 2015. Its name means 'Long live Poland' – the flower colour deliberately echoes the Polish national colours, and the variety featured on a commemorative envelope issued by Poland's postal service alongside a special stamp series of home-grown clematis introductions. The 12–15 cm single flowers are made up of 6–8 elliptic, slightly wavy tepals: vivid red with a white centre toward the middle and base, pale pink underneath, fading a little once fully open. Striking deep red stamens on lemon-yellow filaments complete the picture.

'Viva Polonia' flowers from June to July and blooms profusely even quite low down on the plant. At 150–200 cm it is well suited to trellises, obelisks and other supports on walls, fences or pergolas. It prefers a sunny but not overly hot position – south-, east- or west-facing aspects all work well, as long as the root area stays cool and shaded.

'Viva Polonia' is exceptionally winter-hardy (zone 4, down to about -34 °C) and copes easily with harsh winters. 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.