As soon as this spring, you could have royalty in your garden. I don’t mean a visiting king, duchess or even an aristocratic rebel like Prince Harry, but a plant known by some as the queen of flowering vines: Clematis.

Like human royals, clematis comes in many varieties which rise to different heights. Some types grow as much as 30 feet in a year, clinging to whatever support they find by twining their leaves and stems around it. Others stand barely a few feet tall at maturity and fit nicely into a flower bed or around something the gardener wants to disguise, like an unsightly stump.

Unlike human royalty, the hundreds of varieties of clematis produce flowers in a multitude of shapes and colors (white, pink, mauve, blue, purple, red, yellow). Depending on the type, they may flower anytime from spring to late fall. By carefully choosing several varieties, you could have clematis blooming in your garden continuously from spring until frost. Add the fragrance that some of the blossom exudes and you have a truly charming and useful ornamental vine.
Broadly speaking, clematis is divided into small-flowered and large-flowered varieties. The former produce flowers that may be flat, bell-shaped, star-like or urn-shaped. The larger-flowered hybrids usually have saucer-shaped blossom, sometimes eight to 10 inches across.

Why did I embark on this topic? A friend sent me an email saying she was going to plant Fragrant Tube Clematis (clematis heracleaefolia davidiana) which, from the picture she attached, looked unlike any clematis I’d seen. Its vibrant blue flowers resemble a hyacinth’s. It grows just three to four feet tall and produces fragrant blossom from late summer to early fall.
The clematis I knew was a long, winding vine with large, flat flowers in sometimes marvelous colors. One such clematis I found at Lowe’s years ago and planted here. It produces striking, pale blue blossoms four or five inches wide in late spring. They outshine everything in my garden except Sweet Bay Magnolia, whose flowers are even larger, the color of vanilla ice cream and so fragrant that if I were a bee, I’d curl up in one and take a siesta until the Japanese beetles came along…but that’s another story.

My friend wrote that she chose the little Fragrant Tube Clematis because it matched the color scheme of her cozy, sunny, little garden — blue — and because its small stature wouldn’t overwhelm her space.
Another clematis I once planted to cover an ugly fence was Clematis Montana, which grew for miles and produced masses of sweet-smelling, small white flowers in spring. Clematis are usually prolific bloomers; but, as a rule, the bigger the blossoms, the fewer there are. So, why not have at least two of them? One with great, big, knock-your-socks-off colorful flowers and one with clouds of cute, little, fragrant faces clambering over something you’d rather not see. The latter, by the way, can be trained over a low wall to give the illusion of a flowering hedge.
Clematis, all of which have fluffy seed pods, combine well with other plants, too. They can be trained to climb up a tree, like lilac, which flowers for only a short time, and extend its ornamental season. Clematis can be planted alone, for an accent, or to grow along a deck or terrace, or up a pillar or post.

It can even go in a perennial border. Arrange some old branches in the bed so they’re lower in front and higher in back. In one season, a clematis can completely cover the branches, creating a mass of green foliage with bright patches of colorful flowers during the plant’s blooming season.
The time to plant clematis is now – as early as possible in spring – or in fall. If you choose spring, the main goal is to plant before the weather gets hot and dry. Clematis’ shallow roots need to remain cool and damp, but never waterlogged.
The very best position for the vine is facing east, with its feet in the shade (for example, on the shady side of a fence or wall), but where it can climb up into the sunlight. One trick, which I’ve tried successfully, is to place a large, flat stone on the ground in front of the plant so as to cover the area where its roots grow.

Put a summer mulch of straw, grass clippings or the like around the plant to keep the soil moist and control weeds. If you plant in fall, mulch the plant well to prevent damage from frost in the soil.
Clematis likes rich, slightly acid to neutral soil, well loosened and amended with well-rotted manure, leaf mold and/or peat moss if the soil seems too heavy. Dig a hole 18 inches deep and wide, then plant the vine with its collar (the point where the roots branch out from the stem) two to three inches below the soil’s surface. Firm the soil well around the roots, but don’t stamp on it, and water thoroughly.
The vine prefers to have its stems and leaves well off the ground so light and air can circulate around them, so when you plant it, provide something for it to climb on. In spring, because clematis stems are weak, you might also put a short twiggy branch in the ground beside the vine for support.
Don’t fertilize clematis for at least two months after planting and wait at least two years before pruning it. Also, avoid cultivating around the plant because its roots are easily damaged.

Clematis usually take at least three years to produce a profusion of flowers, so buy a plant at least two years old. It’s also preferable to purchase an “own-root” plant instead of a grafted one. It will stay true to variety, should the stem get damaged, and will produce a stronger root system than a grafted plant.

Some particularly lovely varieties, a few of the many, include: Comtesse de Bouchaud, Duchess of Albany, Duchess of Edinburgh, Jackmani Superba, Henryi and Mrs. Cholmondeley.
Consider planting a gorgeous vine this spring. In the meantime, happy gardening!
Editor’s Note: Laetitia Sands is a master gardener in Dorchester County.