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Plant Profile – Clematis Recta ‘Purpurea’

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Fragrant Blooming Clematis recta 'Purpurea'

Fragrant Blooming Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’

Clematis recta means upright clematis!

Clematis recta is a surprise perennial for many clematis lovers. That’s because we usually think of climbing vines when we hear “clematis.” But this one doesn’t have to climb.

‘Purpurea’ means purple!

Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’ is the purple form of this upright clematis. But it’s the foliage that’s purple, not the flowers. In fact, the blooms are white. And the foliage is both purple with tones of purple-grey as well.

It’s kind of a climber too…

Clematis recta purpurea is a perennial that mostly stands upright. But truly, it does like to climb a bit too. So like its climbing clematis cousins, upright clematis does have twining petioles. And that means the leaf stalk twists around anything it meets, helping the plant hold on. So while you can stake it, there’s no need to give it a climbing structure. But when it emerges from the soil, it easily grows to about five feet tall. After that it can start flopping a bit under its own weight. But the cascading flowers become a stunning in a back-of-border or mid-tier location within a mixed bed.

But, Clematis recta tends to hold onto itself rather than spread like mad throughout a bed like other clematis might do. Of course, you could take advantage of those twining petioles to train it to a fence or staking system or even around the base of a tree.

Plus this perennial is fragrant!

It is sweet as can be for you, me and the bees. In fact, wild bees flocking to Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’. And almost looks like they shovel the abundant pollen onto their legs. Those pollinators act intoxicated by these fragrant white flowers. So it’s funny to see them tumbling through the blooms.

How to care for this Clematis…

There’s little to do with this simple perennial. Just cut it to the ground at the end of the season. Mulch it well, and your Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’ should emerge again by mid-spring to flower fragrantly for you and for the pollinators.

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2 comments on “Plant Profile – Clematis Recta ‘Purpurea’

  1. Garden Mentors on

    Chandra, There are many things that can impact flowering. It may be the environmental like the soil or watering or how much sunlight the plant gets. Or, it could be the age of the plant. It could be improper pruning. Or, it could be something else. Without details on the situation, we aren’t able to address individual issues like this. You might try brining in a consultant local to your area to assess the situation. Good luck.

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