Clematis in windowboxes (Image: Raymond Evison Clematis/PA)
They’re renowned for scaling trellis work, weaving through shrubbery and serving as excellent companions for roses – yet certain clematis varieties are perfectly suited to more compact spaces, according to gardening writer Hannah Stephenson. This year, award-winning Guernsey clematis breeder Raymond Evison Clematis is officially unveiling three new cultivars at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, all reaching heights of between three and four feet, making them perfectly suited for containers in confined spaces such as urban gardens.
C. Ithemba displays white blooms featuring a subtle pink bar, C. ‘Eliza’ is a large-flowered variety transitioning from pale blue to pure white and C. ‘Queens Nurse’ produces deep, rosy pink flowers. Currently available from the website, they will also be stocked in garden centres from mid-April onwards.
Cultivate them in containers
Even if you only have space for a single large pot in a city garden, a more compact clematis could provide the ideal solution.
“They’re perfect for a small urban garden, because they’re only going to get to about four or five feet tall. Containers are perfect. You could have them against the back wall of your house or plant them in the garden as they don’t take up much horizontal space, it’s all vertical,” says Andy Jeanes, international sales and marketing director at Guernsey Clematis.
The appeal of the compact varieties lies in their ability to produce blooms from the plant’s base right to the top, preventing bare, woody stems at the bottom, while maintaining all the flowers concentrated at the summit, yet the blooms remain just as substantial as their taller, large-flowered counterparts that flourish during spring and summer.
Clematis flower tufts at the end of summer (Image: Alamy/PA)
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Alternative breeders provide distinctive types such as the Dutch-bred Clematis tangutica ‘Little Lemons’, a compact plant that appears entirely different to its larger relatives and proves perfect for patios, rockeries, hanging baskets or larger windowboxes. It reaches just 45cm and yields small yellow, drooping bell-shaped blooms across several months, delivering an extended season of visual appeal. Once the flowers fade, attractive, feathery seedheads emerge.
Planting guidance
“For our clematis, we recommend a minimum-size container to be 18in/450cm cubed and the container needs to have drainage holes,” says Jeanes. “Clematis hate to be wet over winter, so you’ll need plenty of drainage, good free-draining compost and underplant them with some bedding or trailing plants to go over the outside of the container.
“Water them moderately – never overwater. As soon as you see the first flower buds being produced, start feeding them with a high potash feed, something like a tomato feed, and continue to feed them until the first flowers are just about to open, then stop feeding. That will stress the plant even further, which will produce more blooms.”
Colourful, hardy clematis will thrive in pots, containers and hanging baskets (Image: Alamy/PA)Display them in hanging baskets
Dwarf clematis can also be situated in hanging baskets or even large window boxes, where they will cascade down amongst other plants. In his book, Clematis For Small Spaces, Raymond Evison advocates for compact varieties such as C ‘Bijou’ ‘Evipo030’, a soft violet blue which grows 30-60cm, suitable for small to medium-sized containers as well as window boxes and hanging baskets. They will produce stems which will trail from the baskets and he suggests pairing them with other plants featuring grey foliage and mauve flowers for a complementary effect.
“They look fantastic in hanging baskets,” Jeanes concurs. “Instead of growing up, they cascade down.”
Provide support
Those growing vertically in a container will require some form of support, such as canes or a decorative frame. “They are semi self-clinging, so they need some structure. They’ll hold on to a cane and twirl around it, no problem,” says Jeanes.
You may have to tie them to a thick post, or attach thinner material like string for them to find their way up, he adds.
Mix them up in containers
Combine two contrasting colours together in the same pot and you should achieve some wow factor, he suggests. You can tidy them up once they’ve finished flowering, deadheading them and treating like a rose, to encourage further flowering. They are best kept with their roots shaded, so in containers and baskets plant other plants around them to create a micro-climate, he advises.
Clematis ‘Elpis’ in a pot (Image: Raymond Evison Clematis/PA)
He advised: “Mix planting in containers with foliage plants such as thyme, saxifraga or any similar ground cover or trailing plants, or bedding of any mix.”
Should we experience a scorching summer, he notes that plants will enter summer dormancy when temperatures exceed 27C.
“They’ll go a bit yellow on the foliage and look like they have a drought problem, but actually they’ve gone into dormancy. One of the biggest killers of clematis in the summer is people thinking that they’re too dry. So don’t overwater them.”
The only method to determine if the plant requires watering is to insert your finger into the soil to assess moisture levels, he suggests. As temperatures begin to drop in late August and September, the clematis will recommence growth and you may be rewarded with a second burst of blooms.
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