Clematis occidentalis portrait
I don’t think I had the chance to show C. occidentalis when it flowered this spring; too many other things were happening in May.
Clematis occidentalis (Purple Clematis, Mountain clematis) is a species native to the US and Canada, usually growing in rocky woodlands, near creeks, talus slopes, tickets, often on calcareous substrates.
It is a variable species with 3 var. recognized by Flora of North America: var. occidentalis (Eastern NA), var. dissecta (confined to central Washington) and var. grosseserata (Western NA).
Plants from the Eastern N America belong to Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis. It is rare that one can stumble upon them in the wild, being scarce in most locations; actually, it is considered an endangered species in a few US States.
It is a trailing or climbing vine on nearby plants/tree trunks, up to 2 m in length with 3-parted leaves, coarsely crenate and/or lobed. The bell shaped flowers are large (up to 6 cm long) and can be reddish-violet to pink-purple.
In the garden, for a natural look, let it scramble on a nearby plant (a shrub preferably) or even better, over stone walls and boulders. The large flowers appear in the spring (May in ON) and will surely attract attention!
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis – garden cultivated
Clematis occidentalis var. occidentalis; this is a trailing specimen which likes to scramble on the nearby plants; you can also tie up the stems on a small trellis/obelisk.
Also, the shrubby Clematis integrifolia seeds are back in stock! We missed having them to share in the last couple of years.
Clematis integrifolia – blue
Clematis integrifolia – pink group
