Clematis 'Sodertalje'

The clematis 'Södertälje' was raised in 1952 by the Swedish breeder Magnus Johnson from a seedling of Clematis viticella 'Grandiflora Sanguinea' and named after the town of Södertälje south-west of Stockholm, where he ran his own nursery after periods working in Gothenburg and Austria. The medium-sized, slightly nodding flowers appear in a bold reddish-pink with a greenish-yellow centre and greenish stamens; the earliest flowers of the season often also show delicate green tips on the sepals.

From July to September, 'Södertälje' flowers reliably and abundantly, as is typical for the Viticella Group. Reaching a height of around 300 cm, it is well suited to trellises, fences, obelisks and pergolas, and will also scramble happily through low shrubs. It looks particularly striking planted with climbing roses or other shrubs that are pruned annually like itself — the deep red tone provides a strong accent that also combines well with paler clematis varieties. It thrives in sun to partial shade in any aspect.

'Södertälje' is reliably hardy (zone 5, down to around -28.8 °C) and therefore suitable even for exposed sites. As a pruning group 3 variety, cut it back hard to around 25 cm in March — it reliably resprouts from last year's wood and flowers on the new growth. This keeps the plant compact, free-flowering and easy to care for.