I must admit, I’m a big fan of clematis.  I have over a dozen varieties running up wire fences around the back garden, blooming at different times of spring and summer, effortlessly providing an ongoing show of color and form.  Yet, of all the flashy varietals, good old native purple clematis remains a favorite.  It’s tough but fairly easy to grow.  Once established, it is vigorous but long lived, a dependable but showy workhorse.  Purple clematis, sometimes known as “Purple Virgin’s Bower” is native to most of the upper East Coast and Midwest, extending up into Eastern Canada, so it is hardy all through Minnesota.  In the wild it is found in "calcareous cliffs, rock ledges, talus slopes, gravelly embankments, rocky woods, and clearings" (Flora of North America, Volume 3. 1997).

As you might imagine, the vine is not too picky about soils and will do well in a variety of environments, although you should make sure it has decent drainage.   Clematis will need support to climb on as the plant will send out several shoots that can grow as tall as 12 feet although usually 4 to 6 feet.  As a woodland plant it is mostly found in partial sun environments but usually tolerates full sun.  This perennial woody vine blooms in May and June although it can appear a bit earlier in southern Minnesota.  It produces gorgeous blue-violet to pinkish purple flowers 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long.  Several pollinators have been recorded visiting purple clematis, most frequently bumble bees.  In late summer into fall, fruiting bodies are formed from the flowers.  The styles elongate to form “tails” about 2 inches long, upon which green to rusty brown seeds form which are spread by the wind.

There are, at present over 200 cultivars of clematis, which are wondrous in their variety and well worth growing, if you have the room.  However, a great place to start is with the simple elegance of the native species, Clematis occidentalis.

Photo credits: Minnesota Wildflowers, K. Chayka (1), Minnesota Wildflowers, P.M. Dziuk (2)