Clematis in bloom

Lizzie27

I said a few days ago that my Clematis Alpina was out in bloom and that I'd post a photo later - and now can't remember which thread it was on!

Anyway the clematis is 'Helsingborg'. Isn't it lovely.

Also apologies to @Nollie, the clematis on the wisteria isn't 'Josephine' but is 'Crystal Fountain', sorry about that, I've got quite a few so it's hard to keep track.

Rubytoo

It is a nice one isn't it. Glad you found out.

Lizzie27 said:

I said a few days ago that my Clematis Alpina was out in bloom and that I'd post a photo later - and now can't remember which thread it was on!

I know you did Lizzie as I replied, I can't remember where or find it either.

I was waiting to see as it was hard to tell, you thought it might be Blue Dancer or something else, could not tell if it was double or not at the time as it was not open.

It is hard to find out sometimes because of the colour rendering on photos and computer screens? Some look purple and some lighter or blue when they aren't and vice versa.
It makes me crazy I should not look.

Lizzie27

It's funny @Rubytoo, it's definitely purple this year but I could have sworn it was nearer to blue in previous years.

dappledshade

That is really stunning!
Can I ask how long its flowering season is please? I'm looking for a clematis of that colour to go over a doorway.
thanks!

Lizzie27

I don't think I know @dappledshade, sorry. It is an Alpina (Group 1?) which is an early flowering one so unlikely to bloom in mid summer. I'd say end of May perhaps. @Marlorena or @Richard Hodson might know better. 'Polish Spirit ' is a later flowering clematis (very vigorous, Group 3) of the same colouring and that lasts for ages. If you have room, you could plant both, one each side of your door.

LG_

My local Aldi is selling quite healthy looking clematis at the moment for £1.79 each, and Polish Spirit was one of the cultivars that seemed plentiful on Friday when I went.

Marlorena

Alpinas flower for about a month then you get those delightful seed heads which last a long time, … I find them to be as decorative as the flowers...

Nollie

Thats lovely Lizzie. No need to apologise, I would have been non the wiser! The W. Nike I planted, actually has a couple of flower buds on already, so I didn’t cut it back on planting as you are meant to do, it seemed a shame to cut off the flowers. Probably the wrong thing to do!

Lizzie27

Don't worry about it, I wouldn't have cut the flowers off either! 

Rubytoo

Lizzie I think clematis do that colour thing to a degree depending on the time of year and the warmth or cold and the amount or lack of fertilizer. All these things can affect them a little bit some years? They mostly come up as they should.

Another not cutting the flowers off here, @Nollie,  despite me giving the advice that you should.
I think we can't help wanting to see those first few flowers.
And we can cut them back straight after anyway.

Atragenes do always look lovely with the seed heads giving a long display.
But I dead head some of my smaller ones like my relatively new Constance (alpina) as it can help get a second flush later, though not nearly as big a flush as the early. You would not bother usually I think, not on a big specimen.

But it is fun to experiment, Blue Dancer I found will do it too.
I know I read it somewhere first and tried it. Not my own idea or trial.
You find these snippets of information on sites like the International clematis society, or a paragraph in a book or article.

Sorry waffling, not sure if Helsingborg is one that readily does it.

@dappledshade You can use this site to find the colour you would like and time of year.
http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/index.cfm
There are so many clematis , but the site search is really good, it tells you which months which ones generally flower too.
Helsingborg goes April to  May according to that site.
The A-Z is very good too.

For a longer flowering period, look at group 2 and viticellas which are group 3.