Over 70

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

and

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

of clematis currently (2016) possess the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

, reflecting this plant's continued popularity in gardens in the United Kingdom. ''Clematis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of woody based

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s, mostly

climbers Climber may refer to: *Climber, a participant in the activity of climbing *Climber, general name for a vine *Climber, or climbing specialist, a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads * Climber (BEAM), a robot that ...

with a twining habit, though some are grown as groundcover or as

herbaceous plants Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

. They can be

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. They bear flowers in all shades except black, pure blue, pure red and orange. The flowers are often large and showy. They can be single or double, fragrant or unscented, compact or vigorous, in a wide range of shapes and sizes. The flowering period varies from early spring to late summer. Many spring-flowering cultivars produce a second flush of blooms after the main display has finished, and many have attractive silky seed-heads prolonging the period of interest. Clematis can be grown against walls, fences, over

pergolas A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open Latticework, lattice, often upon which Woody plant, woo ...

and

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

s, or through other shrubs and trees.

Groups

Cultivars are placed in the following groups:- *A; Atragene group; medium-sized climbers with nodding, bellshaped flowers early in the season *Ad; Atragene double-flowered; medium-sized climbers with nodding, bell-shaped double blooms flowering in spring on previous year's growth *E; Early large flowered group; medium-sized climbers with large star-shaped flowers on previous season's growth, in spring and early summer, often with a second flush of blooms later in the season *Forsteri group; dwarf or spreading evergreen shrubs or climbers, with deeply cut leaves and small white or cream flowers *H; Heracleifolia group; subshrubs with long, scrambling stems and abundant small flowers on the current year's growth, in summer and autumn *I; Integrifolia group; small subshrubs with herbaceous growth, flowers in summer and autumn *L; Late large-flowered group; medium-sized climbers flowering in summer and early autumn on current year's growth, with large flowers *M; Montana group; vigorous climbers flowering early in the season *Md; Montana double-flowered group; vigorous climbers flowering in late spring and early summer *T; Tangutica group; large climbers with small bell-shaped flowers, usually in shades of yellow or white, late in the season, often followed by silky seed heads *Tx; Texensis group; climbers with bell- or tulip-shaped flowers in summer and autumn, on the current year's growth *V; Viticella group; pinnate leaves, nodding half-open flowers on current year's growth, in summer *Va; Vitalba group; substantial climbers with profuse, small, erect flowers on current year's growth, in summer and autumn; also used for

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

References

{{reflist Clematis Clematis