Clematis 'Daniel Deronda'

Overdevest Nurseries director of marketing David Wilson describes the Garden Splendor Showcase Plants as “the best of the tried and true, and the most promising of the exciting and new.” Garden Splendor is an Overdevest Nurseries brand.

“They could be plants that have been around for 100 years or so, but maybe they’re not discovered yet,” Wilson said. “ Or maybe they’ve stood the test of time, like Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda,’ but they’ve not been given prominence yet.”

Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ is one of nine Showcase Plants being promoted in 2008. The award-winning variety has very large, semi-double, violet-blue flowers in late spring During summer, it flowers again, abounding with large but single flowers. It has creamy-yellow anthers.

The seed heads are fluffy and pleasing, extending its long decorative period.

The hybrid was developed by the Victorian clematis breeder Charles Noble in the early 1880s. Noble took the European C. integrifolia and pollinated it with a small North American species, C. crispa. It was named for “Daniel Deronda,” a novel by George Eliot, first published in 1876.

Wilson said Overdevest plans to pulse the nine Showcase Plants throughout this spring, allowing a fresh variety to take center stage at retail every two weeks or so throughout the primary garden retail season.

Culture notes

The deciduous vine is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone: 4. It is not the most vigorous clematis, reaching a mature height of 7 feet and a width of 12 feet.

Plant ‘Daniel Deronda’ to climb on a fence, arbor or trellis. It requires sun to partial shade. It’s suitable for growing in containers.

The plant has average water needs, so water regularly but don’t overwater.

For more: Overdevest Nurseries, (856) 451-3179; www.gardensplendor.com.

Specifics

Name: Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’

Family: Ranunculaceae.

Description: A charming cultivar with very large, semi-double, violet-blue, paler towards the center, flowers, borne from May to June, followed by a second flowering period later in the summer.

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Landscape uses: Fence, arbor, trellis or container.

- Kevin Neal