Plant Encyclopedia

Description:

A notable improvement over the enormously popular Jackman clematis which is more vigorous and produces even larger, richer deep purple-blue flowers across the entire summer and into fall; a tough and hardy plant for every gardener

Ornamental Features

Jackmanii Superba Clematis features showy royal blue star-shaped flowers with white anthers at the ends of the branches from mid summer to early fall. It has green deciduous foliage. The compound leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Jackmanii Superba Clematis is a multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a twining and trailing 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 woody vine. It is a Type 3 clematis; each spring it should be pruned back to within a few inches of the ground, as it flowers on new wood of the season. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Jackmanii Superba Clematis is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Jackmanii Superba Clematis will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This woody vine should only be grown in full sunlight. 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 highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. 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.

Jackmanii Superba Clematis makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.