Clematis The President

The Clematis 'The President', obtained in 1873 in England by Charles Noble, remains to this day one of the most planted varieties in European gardens. It must be said that even among recent cultivars, very few can equal it, both in terms of the extraordinarily bright colour of its large blue-violet flowers with silver undersides, and its generosity and robustness in the garden. It blooms early in the spring, for 2 months, then blooms again in late summer, covered in an abundance of flowers that can be seen from afar. The modest size of this small climber allows it to conquer a bush or a large trellis on the terrace, planted in a large pot.

Clematis belong to the family of ranunculaceae. They are found in both hemispheres, especially in Europe, the Himalayas, China, Australia, North and Central America. The variety 'The President' is an old horticultural hybrid of, among others, Clematis jackmanii, distinguished in 1996 by an Award of Garden Merit awarded by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society. This perfectly perennial plant is hardy, semi-woody and climbing, reaching about 3m (10ft) in height, with a minimum spread of 2m (7ft). Its stems are quite slender and brittle, especially in windy conditions.

This clematis bears star-shaped flowers with eight overlapping petals, 10 to 18 cm (4 to 7in) in diameter, which appear in May-June (sometimes as early as April) on the shoots from the previous year's wood, and then again on the shoots of the current year, in late summer, in August-September. The flowers are solitary or grouped in clusters and particularly abundant. They are upright and have 8 undulate-edged petals of a solid colour, a deep, vibrant blue-violet, shining and enhanced by a silver underside. The centre of the flower is adorned with a heart of cream filaments and purple anthers. The flowering is followed by decorative feathery silver-grey fruits that persist until winter. The pinnate leaves, with oval, glabrous leaflets, are of the patens type, a fairly dark green. This clematis clings to the support or host plant through petioles transformed into tendrils.

Plant your clematis alongside your climbing roses or vines to prolong the flowering of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. It is a genus rich in diversity, with varieties available in all colours, shapes and sizes. Take advantage of their ease of cultivation to give your garden, as well as your balcony, a romantic and bohemian touch. 'The President', like perennial sweet peas, loves to weave its way through bushes and performs very well in a large pot, with its base in the shade and its head in the sun.