Plant-A-Day 2020 (Day 117) Clematis montana “Rubens”

The queen of my spring-flowring clematis vines, this was planted at the same time and on the same fence as C. alpina “Willy” and C. macropetala “Markham’s Pink”, but while those other vines are polite, elegant ladies, C. montana “Rubens” is more of a brassy dame. The vine is very vigorous and the flower show is extraordinary every year.

The only work to be done with this vine is to trim it back after flowering to keep it in bounds. I won’t fertilize it for fear it will knock the fence down!