Clematis 'Princess Red'

Clematis 'Princess Red' traces back to a selection made in 2005 by Japanese breeder Mikiyoshi Chikuma, who chose it from seedlings of Clematis crispa and initially named it 'Aka no Crispa' – Japanese for 'red crispa'; in 2008 Szczepan Marczyński renamed the cultivar 'Princess Red', and under this name it reached the trade as a novelty in 2014. The roughly 3 cm, bell-shaped, nodding flowers show four carmine-red sepals with light pink margins and strongly curled, upturned tips, plus golden anthers on white filaments – on warm days they release a pleasant fruity fragrance. A red flower colour is considered a special breeding achievement within this group, as it does not yet occur naturally in the wild species.

Growing 250 to 300 cm tall, 'Princess Red' climbs vigorously up trellises, obelisks or larger shrubs, clinging on with its leaf stalks, and it also does well in containers. From July to October it produces one of the longest flowering periods among clematis, followed by decorative seed heads that adorn the plant well into late autumn. It is happiest in a sunny spot facing south, east or west with free-draining soil – for example along a path, where the nodding flowers can be admired up close.

'Princess Red' is reliably hardy (zone 5, down to about -29 °C) and ranks among the tougher clematis. Since it flowers only on the current season's growth, cut it back hard to about 25 cm in March (pruning group 3) – this keeps growth compact and ensures a full display of flowers through summer and autumn.