Clematis 'Carmencita'

Clematis 'Carmencita' was raised in 1952 by the Swedish breeder Magnus Johnson, from the same batch of Clematis viticella 'Grandiflora Sanguinea' seedlings that also produced 'Södertälje'. She takes her name from the dark-eyed Spanish beauties Johnson was reminded of when he saw her flowers. The medium-sized, 5-7 cm flowers glow in rich, velvety red, with darker-edged, veined sepals and deep purple-red stamens - nodding and borne singly along the stems.

'Carmencita' flowers from July to September, giving a long, uninterrupted display through high summer. At around 300 cm, she is well suited to trellises, lattice supports and obelisks, and can also be trained along fences or into larger shrubs. She thrives in full sun as well as partial shade and tolerates almost any well-drained garden soil - practical for east-, west- or south-facing spots too; keep the root area and base of the plant cool and shaded.

This variety is reliably hardy (zone 5, down to about -28.8 °C) and robust against disease. Cut 'Carmencita' back hard to about 25 cm in March - this encourages vigorous new growth and abundant flowering. She is sometimes confused with the similar cultivar 'Kermesina', but is distinguished by her more intense colour and the absence of white basal markings; otherwise, as an easy-care, beginner-friendly clematis, she needs little special attention.