Clematis tangutica Red Balloon

Clematis 'Red Balloon' is a climbing variety that is very sturdy, vigorous, and disease-resistant. It boasts curious flowers shaped like small balloons that open into yellow bells with a tinge of reddish-brown on the outside. Its light foliage with toothed leaflets is also decorative, as are its feathery and silvery fruits that persist on the plant throughout winter. This hardy plant is useful for concealing an unattractive small structure, a fence, or a bank. It also works well climbing over a bush.

The genus Clematis belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. Clematis 'Red Balloon' is a horticultural hybrid obtained in Germany in 1996. One of its ancestors is the botanical species Clematis tibetana var. vernayi, originating from the Himalayas. 'Red Balloon' is a climbing plant with woody roots and voluble stems. It is particularly hardy, sturdy, and floriferous. It blooms on the current year's growth. It forms a dense bush that can reach 3 to 4m (10 to 13ft) in height and 2m (7ft) in width within a few years. Flowering begins in June-July, has a resting period, and then resumes until the end of September, or even until the first frosts. The flower buds are solitary and grouped in clusters. They are borne on long peduncles in the axils of the leaves. They are spherical and light green in colour. They open into flowers measuring 3 to 4cm (1 to 2in) in diameter, resembling Chinese lanterns, composed of 4 bright yellow sepals that darken to a deep yellow over time. Before withering, they take on a slightly lumpy appearance like orange skin and a beautiful orange-red to brownish hue. The flowering is followed by the formation of silvery and feathery fruits, in the shape of decorative pompoms. The light foliage is composed of leaves divided into 2 or 3 thin and deeply toothed leaflets, with a slightly bluish-green colour. The plant loses its foliage in winter.

Plant Clematis 'Red Balloon' on both sides of the support to be covered. Its prolonged and rather late flowering will go well with the purplish foliage of the dyer's vine and the blue flowers of C. 'Blue Eclipse', for example. It can also accompany the fragrant bouquets of yellow or white climbing roses. When left free and without support, this clematis will form a thicket adorned with beautiful yellow bells. Plant it alongside the blue-purple bells of C. 'Rooguchi' or those of C. 'Perle d'Azur', for example. It is easy to grow in full sun or partial shade, in fertile and well-drained soil.