Plant
of the Month
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November/December 2004
Clematis
terniflora
Sweet Autumn Clematis
by Dr. Mary Toomey
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Clematis terniflora
© Ian Lang
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(Synonyms: C. chinensis hort; C. flammula
L. var. robusta Carrière; C. dioscoreifolia
Lév. & Vaniot; C. dioscoreifolia var.
robusta (Carrière) Rehder; C. maximowicziana
Franch. & Sav.; C. maximowicziana var. robusta
(Carrière) Nakai; C. paniculata Thunb.,
non Gmel.; C. paniculata Thunb. var. dioscoreifolia
(Lév. & Vaniot) Rehder; C. recta L.
var. paniculata (Thunb.) Pavol.; C. recta
L. subsp. terniflora (DC) Kuntze; C. terniflora
var. robusta (Carrière) Tamura; C.
terniflora 'Robusta')
The flowers of sweet autumn clematis may not be an
instant eye-catcher but their abundance and hawthorn-scent
are enough for me to sing its praise. Native of C &
E China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and naturalised in eastern
United States of America, it was first recorded in 1818.
This deciduous to evergreen (depending on where it is
grown - in warmer climates, it is evergreen) semi-woody
climber is hardy, robust and the stems may reach a height
of up to 10 m (30 feet) given the right site in a garden.
Many-flowered axillary panicles (clusters) are produced
on current year's new growth from late summer to mid
to late autumn. The single, star-like, white flowers
measuring 1.5 - 3 cm (0.5 - 1.25 in) across, are composed
of four distinct sepals (clematis flowers do not have
petals), which are narrow, spreading widely apart, longer
than broad and somewhat hairy on the outside and on
margin. The prominent central boss of stamens is made
of greenish to white filaments and creamy white anthers.
The stems are weakly ribbed or grooved, and are hairy
when young. The leaves are dark green, divided into
5 - 7 leaflets arranged in pairs on either side of the
leaf axis. The leaflets on long leaf stalks are entire,
hairless or almost so, lower ones sometimes three-lobed
or ternate.
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Clematis terniflora
© Ian Lang
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Clematis terniflora belongs to the pruning group
3, meaning that all old stems should be pruned back
hard, annually in late winter or early spring, or even
later in the season, depending on when spring arrives.
A convenient, rapid and easy method of pruning is to
start at the base of the stems and work upwards to the
first pair of nodes (leaf joints), and make a clean
oblique cut above the nodes. Simply put, cut back all
the old stems to the lowest pair of nodes. It pays to
mulch and feed the plant (a general -purpose granular
fertiliser) immediately after pruning.
Sweet autumn clematis is happy in well-drained garden
soils but prefers dry sites. While it is not a fussy
or demanding plant, it thrives and flowers profusely
in a warm to even hot location with plenty of sunshine
- the more the new growths get ripened by sun, the more
the flowers! The plant flowers exceptionally well in
the gardens of eastern United States. On the other hand,
my own plant growing in close proximity to Philadelphus
'Belle Etoile' and Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Pink
Cloud' (Beauty Bush) has never failed to reward and
delight me with handsome and abundant panicles of flowers
year after year, for the past 15 years. A sunny, south-facing
location has paid off handsome dividends. It is also
a joy to cut many clusters of flowers, almost every
second or third day, especially, during November - when
the other garden inmates are ready for their winter
sleep - and bring them into the house, for their scent
alone. Do not be in a rush to throw away your cut stems
of flowers. Just leave them in a vase on a kitchen windowsill
and watch the roots emerging from well-formed callus.
Propagation of this plant, as you will note, is easy.
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Clematis terniflora
© Ian Lang
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My plant enjoying a maritime climate tends to remain
evergreen (winter green), and I am more than happy with
its annual ebb and flow of foliage, even when it is
not in flower. I have not had the pleasure of enjoying
seedheads (fruit), and it is known that fruit seldom
develops in North temperate climates.
It was a pleasure to see this clematis growing in gay
abandon in Kawasaki province in Japan amongst other
native trees, shrubs and even wisteria in the wild.
In fact, a variant with variegated foliage is grown
in Japan.
Gardening in a small space, I am glad I found room
for this delightful clematis.
Bibliography
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Johnson, M. 2001. The Genus Clematis.
Södertälje, Sweden: Magnus Johnson's
Plantskola AB.
Matthews, V. 2002. The International
Clematis Register and Checklist, The
Royal Horticultural Society, London.
Toomey, M., and E. Leeds. 2001. An Illustrated
Encylopaedia of Clematis. Timber Press.
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Contributor
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Dr Mary Toomey,
a keen gardener, international lecturer,
author and broadcaster trained as a biologist,
botanist, entomologist and soil ecologist.
She has been growing and collecting clematis
- a member of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae
- passionately for over 30 years. She has
studied cultivation of clematis extensively,
both from a practical and theoretical standpoint.
Until recently Mary was the editor of The
Clematis, the journal of the British
Clematis Society. She was elected an honorary
member of the Society in 2000.
Her publications include An
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Clematis
(Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, USA) and
Clematis
- A Hamlyn Care Manual (Hamlyn,
Octopus Publishing Group, London, UK), which
has been published in both English and German.
Mary also participated as a scientific and
linguistic reviewer in the translation of
a major botanical - taxonomical publication,
Släktet Klematis by Dr Magnus
Johnson of Sweden, an internationally renowned
authority on Clematis. The English edition,
The
Genus Clematis was published in
2001.
Mary's wider interest in garden plants
and members of the buttercup family in particular,
was instrumental in the founding of the
much-needed Ranunculaceae Society.
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Photo Credits
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All photos courtesy of Ian Lang
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