Clematis Flower Types
- Clematis can bloom several times a year.clematis 1 image by michael luckett from Fotolia.com
Clematis flowers are members of the Ranunculaceae family, more commonly referred to as the buttercup family, according to Ohio State University. With more than 250 species and a variety of hybrids, the clematis plant is commonly divided into three main types based where the plant flowers on the vine. Clematis are perennial and commonly found in temperate areas throughout the Northern Hemisphere, though some can live in tropical areas as well. They are tough plants and can live for 25 years or more. - Clematis plants that produce flowers only on newly grown parts of the plant are generally known as new wood clematis. As the vine grows in a new season, the new growth tends to be green, while the old growth from the previous season tends to be brown and woody. New wood clematis are those that produce flowers only on the new, green portions of the vine that appear at the start of each growing season. New wood clematis need yearly pruning in late winter to early spring so new vines can grow and produce flowers.
- Unlike new wood clematis, old wood plants produce flowers only on those parts of the vine that grew in previous seasons. Old wood clematis flowers appear on parts of the vine that are at least a year old. Old wood clematis pruning must be carefully managed as pruning the old wood portions of the plant before bloom often results in loss of the flowering parts of the plant.
- Some clematis plants produce flowers on both new growth and old growth. These plants tend to produce flowers at different times during the season, with flowers appearing on old wood in the spring and more flowers being produced on new shoots during late summer or early fall. These plants can be lightly pruned or left unpruned.
