Clematis × jouiniana Robert Brydon - Clématite Mrs Robert Brydon, Clématite rampante

The Clematis ‘Mrs Robert Brydon’, still often sold under the name Clematis jouiniana ‘Robert Brydon’, is a herbaceous clematis that does not climb, unlike many varieties. Its long stems do not cling to a support: they spread widely, trail over a low wall, or slip into the lower branches of a shrub. At the end of summer, they are covered with a multitude of small, white-blue to pale mauve flowers. Robust, very hardy and undemanding, this old variety makes an excellent groundcover for large borders and slopes.

This plant belongs to the family Ranunculaceae and the horticultural group Heracleifolia. It has a perennial stump, slightly woody at the base, and its new shoots appear each year in spring. Much of the vegetation dies back in winter and will be replaced the following year. Its official name is Clematis ‘Mrs Robert Brydon’. The plant was long classified among the Clematis × jouiniana, an old and vigorous hybrid of Clematis vitalba and C. tubulosa.
'Mrs Robert Brydon' was discovered in the 1930s in the garden of Elizabeth Prentiss, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her gardener, Robert Brydon, made it known and named it after his wife. Its parentage was long debated. Modern horticultural sources present it as a spontaneous hybrid between Clematis tubulosa and C. virginiana. The former is a perennial or an undershrub native to eastern China and Korea. The latter is a vigorous climbing clematis from temperate regions of Canada and the United States. The growth of ‘Mrs Robert Brydon’ starts unhurriedly in spring, then its stems lengthen rapidly from mid-summer. Thick, ramified and flexible, they measure 1.50 to 2 m long, sometimes 2.50 m in rich soil. They can cover an area of 1.50 to 2 m wide or climb to the same height when guided into a shrub. The deciduous leaves are arranged in pairs along the stems. They are divided into three oval to elliptical leaflets, 3 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green. From July to September, even until October in a mild climate, the shoot tips and leaf axils bear numerous branched clusters. The single flowers, 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter, have four narrow sepals, cream-white to very pale lavender blue. Their bluish edge and slightly recurved tip give the flower a fresh and delicate appearance. Long cream stamens occupy the centre of the corolla. The flowers give off a light fragrance and attract pollinating insects. They are followed by small fruits grouped into silvery grey fluffy heads, which remain decorative in autumn. This abundant flowering, combined with solid vegetation that is simply pruned in spring, explains the longevity of this variety in gardens for nearly a century.

The clematis 'Mrs Robert Brydon' is mainly used as a groundcover, but its stems can also slip into the lower branches of a shrub. The Physocarpus ‘Midnight’ has almost black foliage that will highlight its white-blue flowers. Nearby, you can plant the Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’. It will form a flexible clump, notable in spring for its young purplish leaves, then in summer under a cloud of small, fragrant white flowers. A little further on, the Aster ‘Little Carlow’ will offer in September a multitude of small lavender blue daisies. In a more romantic border, the shrub rose ‘Alden Biesen’, covered in clusters of small pink flowers, can support the stems of this pretty variety ‘Mrs Robert Brydon’.

Advice: avoid excess fertiliser which stimulates foliage at the expense of flowers. Do not mulch, to avoid excessive moisture that encourages wilt disease.