A Polish cultivar raised by Szczepan Marczyński, producing dark red, velvety, semi-double or single flowers, of compact habit and profuse bloom. Suitable for growing in containers on balconies and terraces.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: Large flowers, 13-18 cm in diameter, dark red, velvety. They are semi-double or single and appear on previous year’s growth. Single flowers grow on new wood.  Flowers consist of 6-8 elliptic sepals with rounded tips and slightly wavy margins. Stamens are comprised of yellow anthers set on yellow-greenish filaments. In spring some stamens turn into decorative staminodes.  Blooms from mid-May till mid-July, starting from the bottom (around 20 cm from the base). Leaves are unifoliate, heart-shaped, dark green of smooth edges or trifoliate, consisting of elliptic, pointy leaflets.

HOW IT GROWS: Climber; uses leaf petioles to cling to supports. Reaches 1.5-2 m height.

WHERE TO PLANT: Thrives in well-lit but not overheated sites. Prefers fertile, moderately moist and well drained soils. Hardy (zone 4–9).

HOW TO PLANT AND GROW: Immerse the plant in its container in water for 10-30 minutes. Place the plant in a 60 x 60 x 60 cm pit with a 10 cm draining layer e.g. pebbles or gravel on the bottom. Empty a bucket of well-rotten manure or compost into the pit and fill it up with fertile soil. The plant should be placed in the pit 5-10 cm deeper than it was in the container. Plant at least 30 cm apart from walls or other plants (planting tutorial). Cover the base of the Clematis with bark mulch. Before winter the mulch layer should be piled around the plant base up to 10 cm. In April fertilize with Osmocote Substral 5-6 M and water generously throughout the vegetation period. At the end of February or the beginning of March remove dead growth and prune live shoots moderately – in the first year at around 30 cm from the ground, above the strong buds, in the second year – at 70 cm from the ground and in the following years – at 120-150 cm (pruning tutorial).

HOW TO APPLY: This cultivar is suitable for growing along trellises, obelisks and other garden supports as well as in large containers on balconies and terraces. It may climb over natural supports such as deciduous or coniferous shrubs that do not require hard pruning.

ORIGIN: Poland. Raised by Szczepan Marczyński. On sale from 2021. More about cultivars from our nursery...

SIMILAR CULTIVARS: ‘Red Star’, ‘Kaen’, ‘My Beauty’^PBR