Clematis x viticella 'Krakowiak' Pink Mink - Clématite italienne Pink Mink

The clematis 'Pink Mink' ('Krakowiak') is a hybrid of the Italian clematis or Clematis viticella, from which it inherits hardiness and long summer flowering. Its delicate-looking flowers are small open pink bells striped with dark pink. Charmingly curved back, they reveal a bright green-white heart that catches the light. Its very numerous flowers and compound foliage quickly form a graceful mass. This climbing plant is hardy and easy to grow, requiring only short pruning at the end of winter. Not very bulky, it will dress up an unsightly fence, a somewhat dull shrub, or even a balustrade on a balcony.

Clematis belong to the Ranunculaceae family. The cultivar 'Krakowiak' is a Polish variety, selected by Szczepan Marczynski, marketed from 2011. It is distinguished from other cultivars by its pink flowers. Its female parent is an unnamed Clematis viticella, the male parent is not identified. This variety received a gold medal at the Polish plant novelties competition 2011, as well as a silver medal at the Flowers 2011 exhibition in Moscow. It descends from Clematis viticella, native to southern Europe, renowned for its natural resistance to clematis wilt. It is a perfectly perennial, semi-woody, climbing herbaceous plant, which will reach an average height of 3 m, with a spread of 1 m. This clematis bears well-open flowers, 5 to 8 cm in diameter, which appear on the current year's shoots from June until the end of summer, in successive waves. The flowers are solitary or grouped in small clusters. When they appear, they open into stars, revealing 4 delicately crinkled tepals, a deep pink with darker midlines, reddish pink. It is the light centre of the flower that gives it its charm: its long, bristly white-green stamens intensify the contrast between the light pink and dark pink of its tepals. The leaves are divided into 3 elliptical to lanceolate leaflets, an olive green colour. The foliage dries and dies in winter. This clematis attaches itself to the support or host plant via petioles transformed into tendrils.  

Plant your clematis together with your roses climbing, to prolong the flowering of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. It is a genus rich in diversity, there are all colours, all shapes and all sizes. Take advantage of their ease of cultivation to give your garden a little romantic and bohemian feel. 'Pink Mink' pairs well with the clematis viticella 'White Prince Charles', bluish and light, which is pruned in the same way. The rose 'Perennial Blue' will offer small purple-crimson clusters on an arch or fence. At their base, the Physocarpus opulifolius Little Devil™ will spread its beautiful dark foliage, while the Geranium 'Orion' will form a carpet of blue-violet flowers for a good part of the summer.

Tips: avoid excess fertiliser which stimulates foliage at the expense of flowers.