Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Brand:  Plant Select

Description:

This compact variety provides an abundance of nodding, leathery flowers that are blue, lavender, pink, and pure white from spring to fall; behaves like a perennial that tends to mound; very adaptable with exceptional drought tolerance; low maintenance

Ornamental Features

Mongolian Bells® Clematis features bold nodding navy blue recurved flowers with lavender overtones and lemon yellow anthers at the ends of the stems from mid spring to early fall. Its oval leaves remain green in colour with distinctive light green veins throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Mongolian Bells® Clematis is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Mongolian Bells® Clematis is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Mongolian Bells® Clematis will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity extending to 14 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 15 inches. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. 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 is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Mongolian Bells® Clematis is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.