Clematis Aotearoa - Italian Leather Flower

Clematis 'Aotearoa' is a vigorous and floriferous variety that produces large violet flowers with contrasting creamy yellow stamens throughout summer. Derived from Clematis viticella, this variety is perfectly hardy, undemanding in terms of soil, and disease-resistant. It is a beautiful clematis that suits all gardeners, whether experienced or beginners.

Clematis belong to the renunculaceae family. They are found in both hemispheres, particularly in Europe, the Himalayas, China, Australia and North and Central America. It is a rich and diverse genus, with varieties of all colours, shapes and sizes. The hybrid variety 'Aotearoa' was obtained in 1992 by Alister Keay, in New Zealand. 'Aotearoa' is the Maori name for New Zealand. It is a robust, perennial, hardy, semi-woody climbing plant with thin stems, which can reach between 3.50m (11ft) and 4m (13ft) high, with a spread of at least 1m (3ft). It possesses the genes of the C. viticella, a species particularly resistant to diseases and chalky soils, somewhat dry in summer, but its flowers are much larger, comparable in size to those of large-flowered clematis.

'Aotearoa' flowers have 6 false petals (tepals) in the shape of leaves, measuring 8 to 12 cm (3 to 5in) in diameter, on the current year's shoots from June-July to August-September, without interruption. The flowers are solitary or grouped in cymes and particularly abundant. They are semi-erect and have wide, deep violet tepals, often curved at the edges. The heart of the flower is adorned with cream to greenish stamens. The pinnate leaves, with smooth, lanceolate leaflets with acute tips, are greenish-yellow in colour. This clematis clings to its support or host plants through petioles transformed into tendrils. Its leaves dry up and disappear in winter.

Plant clematis alongside your climbing roses to extend the flowering of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. Place next to beautiful perennials such as geraniums, garden irises, peonies, sages and phlox, which will provide the shade it likes at its base. Take advantage of the ease of cultivation of vitcella group clematis to give your garden a romantic and bohemian touch. 'Aotearoa' loves to climb on bushes and performs well in a large pot. Let it climb on a lilac, a Fargesia bamboo, a large shrub rose 'Westerland' with orange flowers or even in an informal hedge.