Clematis Franziska Marie

Clematis Franziska Marie is one of the few varieties with double flowers that blooms generously throughout the summer season. This queen of lianas has a compact growth habit, which is ideal for climbing on a trellis or as ground cover in a small garden. From May to September, it produces large violet-blue flowers with single, semi-double, and double corollas that resemble dahlia or peony flowers. It is a climbing perennial with long voluble stems and tendrils that cling to supports, making it easy to add vertical interest to the garden. It is hardy everywhere. Plant it in well-drained, rich, and moist soil in a rather sunny location.

The genus Clematis belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. Clematis Franziska Marie is an English variety obtained by Raymond Evision in 1993. It is classified in his 'Regal' range of clematis that bloom in abundance for a long time with double flowers.

It is a woody climbing perennial plant with short stems that will not exceed 2.5m (8ft) in height and has a spread of 1.5m (5ft). The deciduous leaves fall in winter. They are bright green, composed of 3 ovate to lanceolate leaflets, 3 to 7cm (1 to 3in) long and 1.5 to 5cm (1 to 2in) wide, with relatively prominent veins. The rounded, single flowers are composed of numerous oblong, overlapping, and pointed tepals. They are 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) in diameter. The plant produces single, semi-double, and double flowers at the same time. The stamens are cream and have yellow anthers, but are often hidden by the numerous petals. The violet colour of the flowers tends to fade when fully open, especially when the plant is grown in a very sunny location. This clematis clings to the support or host plant with the help of voluble stems with petioles transformed into tendrils.

Plant your clematis alongside climbing roses or vines to extend the flowering period of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. This is a diverse genus, with flowers of all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of their easy cultivation to give your garden a romantic and bohemian touch. To avoid heat stress and drying out at the base, make your life easier by planting your clematis in the shade of a perennial ground cover plant or a bush. Thanks to its rather modest size, Franziska Marie will easily find a place in a small garden and will be perfectly happy in a pot on a balcony or next to a door, embracing a small bamboo structure to welcome visitors with its colourful flowers. Let it climb on a bush with silver or variegated cream foliage to enhance all the shades of its flowers.