Clematis for every season

Their colourful blooms and free-flowering nature make them great garden plants. Clematis are also good plants for covering up garden sheds.

For year round colour, clematis excel. Whether it's the cream cups of Clematis cirrhosa in the depths of winter, or the yellow blooms and fluffy seedheads of Clematis tangutica in autumn.

We've listed seven beautiful clematis for every season, below.

Spring flowering clematis

Clematis armandii

Clematis armandii flowers from March to April and grows well in sun or part shade. A vigorous, evergreen climber perfect for covering a fence or shed. Sweet-scented blooms in large bunches as new, bronze foliage emerges. Pruning group 1.

Height x Spread: 5m x 3m

• Buy Clematis armandii from Thompson & Morgan

Clematis alpina

Flowers from April to May in full sun or partial shade. Deciduous. Mid-blue flowers with clusters of inner creamy segments. Varieties include 'Frances Rivis' and 'Helsingborg'. Pruning group 1.

H x S: 2.5m x 1.5m

• Buy Clematis alpina from Thompson & Morgan

Clematis montana

Flowers from May to June. Deciduous. Prefers full sun but copes in shade for part of the day. Masses of flowers over bronze-green foliage. Due to their vigorous growth, all montanas are suitable for growing over sheds, fences and trees. Pruning group 1.
H x S: 8m x 4m

• Buy Clematis montana from Thompson & Morgan

Summer-flowering clematis

Clematis 'Diana's Delight'

Large-flowered and free-flowering. Blue flowers with a cream-yellow centre. Flowers from May to September. Pruning group 2.

H x S: 2-3m x 2-3m

• Buy Clematis 'Diana's Delight' from Thompson & Morgan

Clematis viticella

Flowers July to September. Masses of blooms produced on vigorous shoots made in the current season. Can be grown in large pots, across fences, walls and spring-flowering shrubs. Try 'Madame Julia Correvon' (pictured), 'Abundance' or 'Venosa Violacea'. Pruning group 3.

H x S: 3m x 2m

• Buy Clematis viticella from Crocus

Clematis texensis

Bell-like flowers on long stalks produced from mid-July to October. Perfect for growing in containers, as well as on tripods and through shrubs in sun or part shade. Look out for 'Princess Diana', 'Duchess of Albany' and 'Gravetye Beauty'. Pruning group 3.
H x S: 3.5m x 1.5m

• Buy Clematis texensis from Taylors Clematis

Clematis tangutica

Flowers from July to October, followed by fluffy seedheads that take the display into winter. The best varieties are 'Bill MacKenzie', the orange-yellow flowered 'My Angel' and the white-bloomed 'Anita'. Pruning group 3.

H x S: 4-8m x 2.5-4m

• Buy Clematis tangutica from Crocus

Winter-flowering clematis

Clematis cirrhosa

Evergreen, flowers Nov-Feb. Popular with winter bumblebees. Varieties include 'Freckles', which has maroon-freckled flowers, 'Ourika Valley' which has creamy bell-shaped blooms and Clematis cirrhosa var. Balearica, which has filigree foliage, with freckled, creamy yellow blooms.

H x S: 4m x 1.5m

• Buy Clematis cirrhosa from Thompson & Morgan

Evergreen clematis

Evergreen clematis come in all shapes and sizes, and flower at different times. The most popular evergreen clematis are the spring-flowering Clematis montana, but other evergreen clematis include the winter-flowering Clematis cirrhosa and varieties including Clematis 'Fragrant Oberon', and Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty'.

• Buy evergreen clematis from Crocus