Clematis 'Margot Koster'

Clematis 'Margot Koster' was introduced around 1890 by the Dutch breeder Marinus Koster from the renowned Koster & Co. nursery and belongs to the Viticella group, prized for its toughness and free-flowering habit. Its vivid red flowers reach 10 to 12 cm across, with four to six often slightly twisted, irregularly shaped sepals and yellow stamens – a trait that gives the variety the charmingly 'dishevelled' look shared by many old Viticella cultivars.

From July to September, 'Margot Koster' produces a steady succession of new flowers, since like all Viticella varieties it blooms only on the current year's growth. At around 200 cm, it suits trellises, obelisks and other supports in smaller to medium-sized gardens, as well as container growing on a patio or balcony. It looks especially charming scrambling through roses or other climbers – a sunny to semi-shaded spot with a cool, well-drained root run suits it best.

'Margot Koster' is very winter-hardy (zone 5, down to about -28.8 to -23.4 °C) and notably easy to care for. As it belongs to pruning group 3, cut the shoots back hard to about 25 cm above the ground in March – this encourages reliable new growth and an even richer summer bloom. As a time-honoured variety proven for more than 130 years, it is also very forgiving of care mistakes, making it a good choice for newcomers to growing clematis.