Pink or cream-white flowers smother 20 to 25 feet of twining stems, and one variety’s white blooms are said to smell of chocolate. Mountain clematis (Clematis montana) is a vigorous climber for an arbour, pergola or bare wall: root it in cool shade with its head in full sun, and it flowers abundantly.
| Name | Clematis montana |
|---|---|
| Family | Ranunculaceae |
| Type | vine |
| Height | 20 to 25 feet (6 to 8 m) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | deep and cool |
| Foliage | deciduous |
| Flowering | late spring |
Described here are the right practices to bring out the best in your Clematis montana, a plant full of vigor bearing many flowers.
Clematis montana is planted indifferently in fall or in spring.
Clematis montana, like all other clematis flowers, loves being rooted in a shaded spot while the head basks in the sun.
Clematis requires some kind of structure to climb up along. Set it up at a distance of about 8 inches (20 cm) from the root collar.
Clematis montana is quite easily multiplied, either through layering of young stems or via cuttings.
Layering in spring, herbaceous cuttings end of spring, semi-hardened cuttings in summer, sowing in fall under a cold frame.
This vine is easy to multiply, and the method you pick decides the time of year you work. The table sets the four options side by side.
| Method | Season | Plant material | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layering | early to mid-spring | young stems | the most successful method |
| Herbaceous cuttings | late spring | young, soft stems | taken in the open garden |
| Semi-hardened cuttings | late summer | semi-hardened stems | stems already firming up |
| Sowing | mid-autumn | seed | under a cold frame |
Whichever route you take, Clematis montana is quite easily multiplied.
Growing clematis in a pot is as simple as A-B-C. Several Clematis montana varieties are well suited to container growing, although other Clematis varieties like Clematis alpina are better suited to it because of their slow growth.
Compost in a container dries out far faster than garden soil, so check the top inch of your potted montana often in hot weather and water before it dries right through.
Sink a sturdy obelisk or trellis into the pot at planting time, since a montana pushing out long shoots is hard to train onto a support added later.
Shade the pot itself, not just the plant, by standing it behind low plants or placing a second pot in front of it.
Prune a potted montana harder than one in the ground to keep this naturally vigorous vine within the space its support offers.
The right time to prune Clematis montana is after the blooming, most often during summer. But since it is rather hardy, pruning in fall is also possible.
The more the pruning, the more it bears flowers!
Overwinter your mountain clematis simply with a layer of mulch along the roots. After all, another name for this vine is “Himalayan clematis”!
Mountain clematis rarely suffers the wilt that strikes large-flowered hybrids, so a collapsing shoot usually points to dry roots or a stem crushed at the base.
Watering Clematis montana is important in case of extended dry spell and/or intense heat.
Clematis can’t withstand drought, and neither can it cope with excess water that might make the roots rot away.
A Clematis montana trained against a house wall sits in a rain shadow, where the soil often stays much drier than open ground, so it may need watering even after heavy rain.
Give one long soak rather than a daily splash.
Keep mulch off the root collar rather than piled against the stems, leaving a clear gap around the crown, as horticultural guidance commonly advises, even though no single gap width is prescribed.
Clematis montana ‘Alexander’
This is one of the Clematis montana cultivars that bears the largest flowers. These come in a cream-white color. If it doesn’t bear flowers immediately, don’t worry: it needs a few years before reaching the point of blooming.
Lilac violet-colored flowers, as its name shows. It is particularly interesting for the size of its flowers that can grow as large as saucers, over 6 inches (15 cm) across. It bears flowers all summer long.
Its blooming is immaculate white, simply magnificent against its gray-green leafage. It adapts particularly well to shaded areas.
Speed is what stands out about its growth, and its leafage and very interesting lilac pink flowers are remarkable. It’s among the clematis that have smaller flowers. There are several renowned cultivars: ‘Broughton Star’ and ‘Tetra Rose’, to name but two of them.
Its blooming comes late, but patience is rewarded when the superb fragrant white flowers appear: some say they have chocolatey smell!
Clematis montana grows best along a trellis or an arbor. On its own, the vine can’t rise up. Consider growing a few fragrant clematis on a pergola or around the posts of your carport: passing by the vine every day will give you a puff of joy! Three fragrant varieties stand out:
Clematis montana climbs by twisting its leaf stalks around thin supports, so stretch wires or fix mesh on a bare wall rather than expecting it to cling by itself.
Wrap a pergola post or carport upright in wire netting to give the young stems something narrow to grip.
Give it a sturdy structure, since Clematis montana commonly matures at roughly 20 to 40 feet and its accumulated woody stems can bow or collapse a lightweight garden trellis.
Keep it clear of gutters and roof tiles.
An old tree stump, a wire fence or a shed wall all disappear under its spring flowers, and the bare winter stems are easier to accept there than on a front doorway.
You can attach your clematis to a lattice to ensure it grows the way you hope it will as it develops!
Credits for images shared to Nature & Garden (all edits by Gaspard Lorthiois):
Two white clematis blooms by 阿橋 HQ under © CC BY-SA 2.0
Pink clematis montana bush by WillowGardeners under © CC BY 2.0
Newly opened Clematis montana blooms by Josh Egan-Wyer under © CC BY 2.0
C. montana flower buds (also on social media) by Rosalyn & Gaspard Lorthiois, own work
C. montana on brick wall (also on social media) by Rosalyn & Gaspard Lorthiois, own work
