Clematis patens Teshio

The Clematis 'Teshio', with its large light lavender blue silk flowers with multiple tapered petals of singular beauty, represents the embodiment of Japanese refinement. Born in Japan in the 1950s, this variety with a very stable flowering, which does not exceed 2.50m (8ft) in height, also offers a well-furnished foliage, of a beautiful bright green. A wonderful little liana, flowering in spring and again in late summer, to be installed in the sun on a climbing rose, a bush or even in a large pot on the terrace.

Clematis belong to the ranunculaceae family. They are found in both hemispheres, particularly in Europe, the Himalayas, China, Australia, North and Central America. The 'Teshio' variety, introduced in 1957, is part of the Clematis patens group, flowering on the previous year's wood in spring, and then on the new shoots in late summer. It is a perfectly perennial and hardy, semi-woody and climbing plant, reaching a height of 2.50m (8ft), with a minimum spread of 1m (3ft). 

This clematis invariably bears, regardless of the climate and season, flowers with a diameter of 10 to 12cm (4 to 5in), composed of numerous very thin tepals at the base, tapered at their tips. When they are just opening, they resemble small fluffy hedgehogs of a bright lavender blue. They open up becoming slightly flatter, releasing a heart composed of small tepals slightly curved towards the centre and delicately veined with pink. The flowers are solitary or grouped in clusters and particularly abundant. The flowering is followed by decorative feather-like silver-grey fruits that persist until winter. The leaves, abundant, pinnate, with ovate, glabrous leaflets, are of the patens type, of a very bright green. This clematis clings to the support or the host plant through petioles transformed into tendrils. 

Plant your clematis, and especially this astonishing and sublime Japanese variety 'Teshio', alongside your climbing roses (Zephirine Drouhin, François Juranville, Pierre de Ronsard...) to extend the flowering of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. It is a genus rich in diversity, with clematis of all colours, shapes and sizes, suitable for beginners as well as experienced gardeners. Take advantage of their diversity and unique charm to give your garden a romantic and bohemian touch. 'Teshio' loves to weave through bushes and performs very well in a large pot.