Clematis 'SEA BREEZE'

Clematis 'Sea Breeze' was bred by Dutch breeder Wim Snoeijer and introduced in 2016 by the J. van Zoest BV nursery in Boskoop. Its 5–7 cm flowers appear in a delicate violet shade, paling towards the centre, with dark-tipped, creamy stamens. The gently nodding flowers, with their translucent sepals, last for several weeks and gradually fade to a soft blue-mauve.

From June to September, 'Sea Breeze' produces an abundance of flowers on the current year's growth. At around 300 cm, it is well suited to trellises, pergolas and other supports, and also thrives in a large container. Like all Viticella varieties, it grows well in sun to part shade in any aspect – it simply needs well-drained, evenly moist soil with its root area kept cool, for example under a layer of gravel or low neighbouring plants.

'Sea Breeze' is reliably hardy (zone 5, down to about -28.8 °C) and belongs to pruning group 3: cut the stems back hard to about 25 cm in March so the plant sprouts vigorously from the lower buds and flowers reliably. Like all Viticella hybrids, it is robust and easy to grow – planted with the crown 5–8 cm deep, it readily produces new shoots from below ground too.