Clematis 'The President'

Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

A classic garden favorite, Clematis 'The President' is a showy, perennial, large-flowered clematis offering late spring to early fall interest, blooming heavily in spring, and setting a second crop of flowers on new wood in late summer or autumn. Extremely free flowering, this highly popular plant sets single, up to 7-inch, cupped, dark violet blue flowers with 8 overlapping petals, having a silvery reverse, and white anthers tinged pinkish deep red. The plant blooms on old and new wood, and at maturity, the vine is fully covered in flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Clematis 'The President' is a medium-sized deciduous climbing vine with a vigorous, bushy, twining, and trailing growth habit of pinnately compound, dark green leaves that stay fresh and attractive all season. There is an old saying about clematis' growth rate: The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap. Train clematis to climb a trellis, arbor, post, or fence, adding vertical interest. Or allow it to amble along the ground, meandering gracefully through the shrubbery. But for something really special, pair it with a climbing rose, allowing the nimble clematis to twine its way around the sturdy rose stalks. The two will elegantly mingle blooms in the early season, but the clematis will carry it through the heat of summer, and the rose will pick up again in fall as the clematis' blooms fade.

Cold hardy, easy to grow, and disease resistant, Clematis 'The President' prefers full sun to part shade and fertile, moist, well-drained alkaline soil but tolerates a wide variety of soils, including chalk, clay, and loams that are acid or alkaline. Good site selection is key. So, remember the adage for success with clematis when planting: feet in the shade, head in the sun. The plant should be placed where the leaves get plenty of sunshine (approx. 6 hours), but the roots are shaded and kept cool, either by low-growing, evergreen shrubs or by heavy mulch. Good drainage is important, and extremely wet locations should be avoided. Protect the vine from strong winds but allow good air circulation. The plant is resistant to black walnut toxicity and deer.

A Group 2 large-flowered clematis (includes rebloomers that produce flowers on old wood in late spring/early summer and often bloom again on new wood in late summer or fall), Clematis 'The President' should be pruned moderately in late winter to early spring before blooming has begun. Remove dead wood and cut the remaining stems 6 to 8 inches, to the topmost pair of large, plump green buds. Trim just enough to encourage new growth without losing promising buds. If training to climb, loosely tie the vines to their structure at this time. Deadheading is unnecessary.

Uses: Arbors, Pergolas, Trellises, Wall Sides, Fences, Borders, Beds, and Containers