Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Description:

One of the hardiest of all clematis and a vigorous grower, covered in small nodding white and blue flowers in late spring, a durable variety for the toughest situations; it also makes a great groundcover

Ornamental Features

Praecox Clematis features delicate fragrant nodding white star-shaped flowers with buttery yellow eyes and blue tips at the ends of the branches from mid to late spring. It has green deciduous foliage. The compound leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour.

Landscape Attributes

Praecox Clematis is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub. It is a Type 1 clematis, meaning that it flowers on old wood of the previous season; other than trimming off obvious dieback in spring, it should only be pruned where necessary immediately after flowering. It is a good choice for attracting bees and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Praecox Clematis is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Praecox Clematis will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.