How to Grow Evergreen Winter Flowering Clematis
There are many winter flowering, evergreen and semi evergreen, Clematis which provide much need colour and scent during the winter months.
Most are evergreen, and although described as "borderline" hardy, this group of Clematis do well even in cold areas, provided they are growing in dry soil. As is often the case, the enemy is winter wet.
As always, some are more hardy than others.
A popular group is Clematis cirrhossa, H4 hardy, which is hardy in most parts of UK -10. C. Cirrhossa flower in late winter during January and February. Popular varieties to grow are C. 'Freckles' illustrated centre, C.var. balearica, similar but with more subtle freckling, C. Jingle Bells which is white flowering, C' Wisely Cream' illustrated below which is evergreen with scented flowers. Because this group of winter flowering evergreen Clematis are H4 hardy make them popular to grow. Even with the H4 hardy rating, these Clematis are best grown in the shelter of a wall which will also provide drier conditions.
Clematis armandii flower later, often described as early spring, which can be anytime from late February to March. A big attraction to grow C. armandii is that they have lovely scented flowers and illustrated above right. This group of Clematis is also H4 hardy. Popular varieties include 'Apple Blossom' illustrated below, 'Little White Charm' highly scented white flowers, and 'Snowdrift' again white scented flowers. Clematis armandii flower best when grown in full sun which means a south/south-west aspect and with the protection of a wall and away from cold winds.
Clematis urophylla ' Winter Beauty' illustrated above left, an evergreen, winter flowering clematis with lovely delicate bell-shaped flowers. The C. urophylla group is H3 hardy, which is hardy in the milder parts of the country. That said, I took the image in Rutland, not a mild area, where it was happily growing and flowering.
These types of clematis do not need to be planted deep. The general rule of thumb when planting clematis is to place the top of the root ball 5-7cm below the soil surface. This encourages the plant to be multi stemmed and helps to prevent clematis wilt. All these winter flowering clematis are an exception to that rule: plant with the top of the root ball level with the soil surface.
How to Prune Winter Flowering Clematis
Winter flowering Clematis are Group 1 which means they do not require regular pruning unlike the other groups of Clematis. A trim back after flowering to keep in shape. If necessary, you can prune the plant more severely if it becomes overgrown, but note C. armandii does not respond well to hard pruning.
Clematis Cirrhosa Wisely Cream
This clematis flowers from late winter through January and February. The familiar silky seed heads appear after in spring. It is H4 hardy, and is best planted on a south aspect.
This variety is not too vigorous, reaching around 4m at maturity.
Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty'
C. urophylla ' Winter Beauty' flowers from January onwards. It is evergreen, H3 hardy and has attractive bell-shaped flowers. I took one image a distance away. The close up is the same plant to show how attractive the flowers are.
It will grow up to 4 meters tall and you should plant it in full sun. This one was around a front door, an ideal spot.
Clematis armandii
The three images in this slide show the pure white armandii probably 'Snowdrift' with scented flowers. The flushed pink is A. apple blossom, with lovely fragrant blooms. Armandii is vigorous, up to 8m and needs a well-sheltered spot. The third image of a rather tatty armandii is one I saw planted in a more exposed spot. It did not look good.
Clematis cirrhosa 'Freckles'
A very popular variety for winter colour, 'Freckles' has attractive flowers (not scented) evergreen leaves and flowers from late autumn through to winter. Seed heads follow the flowers and it's H4 hardy. There is also a variety called 'Advent Bells' which is more freckled and H5 hardy.
Clematis armandii foliage
This image shows a clematis armandii in good condition with excellent evergreen foilage. It also gives a hint of its vigorous growth.
Clematis armandii 'apple blossom',C. urophylla ' Winter Beauty', Clematis cirrhosa 'Advent Bells' and ' Jingle Bells' are all available from Suttons (affiliate link)
Winter flowering Honeysuckle
If you don't have the conditions for a winter flowering clematis, check out Lonicera fragrantissima the winter flowering honeysuckle. It has the most wonderful scent, suitable for most aspects and H6 hardy. More info about growing winter flowering Honeysuckle.