Clematis 'Polish Spirit'

Clematis 'Polish Spirit' arose as a chance seedling in the monastery garden of Brother Stefan Franczak in Warsaw. In 1984, British breeder Raymond Evison (Guernsey Clematis Nursery) spotted the plant on a visit and introduced it in 1990 under the name 'Polish Spirit' — named after the impressive "Polish spirit" he encountered on his travels. The 8–10 cm flowers glow velvety purple-violet with a delicate purple-red central bar, paler outside with a whitish-violet bar; the four to six pointed, rhombic, lightly toothed sepals carry greenish-white filaments with dark purple-red anthers.

'Polish Spirit' flowers from July to October and grows remarkably vigorously to around 350 cm — ideal for walls, fences and trellises, and equally happy scrambling through sturdy climbing roses or shrubs. Because of its lush growth, the variety is less suited to container culture. It looks its best paired with golden-leaved shrubs or evergreen partners that set off the dark flowers in autumn.

With hardiness zone 5 (down to -28.8 °C), 'Polish Spirit' reliably survives cold winters too. Cut the plant back to about 50 cm in March so it breaks strongly and flowers abundantly. As early as 1993 — just three years after its introduction — the variety received the RHS Award of Garden Merit and has been considered an especially proven, robust clematis ever since.