Clematis 'Summer Snow'

Clematis 'Paul Farges' – also sold under the trade name 'Summer Snow' – was raised in 1964 at the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea from a cross between Clematis potaninii var. potaninii and Clematis vitalba; it was registered as a cultivar in the Soviet Union in 1979. Its name honours the French missionary and plant collector Paul Farges. The small, star-shaped flowers are white to creamy white and made up of 4 to 7 narrow, widely spaced tepals; a dense crown of creamy-white to primrose-yellow stamens on long stalks adds further charm. The flowers usually appear in threes directly from the leaf axils and have a pleasant fragrance.

'Paul Farges' flowers in full glory from July to October – often so profusely that the plant appears covered in snow. With its enormous height of up to 700 cm, it's an excellent choice for covering large fences, pergolas, arbours or even old trees, and makes a great option for quick screening. Choose a sunny to semi-shaded spot facing any direction; the fragrance is strongest in full sun.

'Paul Farges' is reliably winter-hardy (zone 4, -34.4 to -28.9 °C) and remarkably low-maintenance, with little susceptibility to disease. Cut it back hard to about 50 cm in March (pruning group 3) – it readily resprouts and flowers reliably on new wood. Its robust nature and abundant flowering have earned it the RHS Award of Garden Merit.