Description

‘Mrs. Robert Brydon’ is not a climbing clematis, but rather a pillar clematis with a bushy growth and scrambling habit. Milky-blue, hyacinth-like flowers with prominent creamy stamens against dark green foliage make for an attractive combination. This shrubby clematis may be trained on a trellis, or allowed to ramble on the ground as a pleasant billowy groundcover, or how about using a neighboring shrub as an organic trellis? It is a sterile hybrid of Clematis vitalba and C. heracleifolia.

Fun fact: This clematis was discovered here in Ohio! It is a spontaneous hybrid that volunteered in the garden of Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss of Cleveland in the 1930’s, and was named after the wife of the gardener who discovered it.

Prefers average, well-drained but moist soil. Keep the roots cool. Clematis prefer their “feet in the shade, head in the sun.” (Shade with other plants, mulch or rocks.) Blooms on new wood and benefits from a hard pruning in late winter. Leave at least two pairs of buds on each stem.

Height: 6-8 ft.
Spread: 2-3 ft.
Family: Ranunculaceae
Bloom time: mid-summer to early fall
Sun: full sun to part shade
Water: medium
According to Rutgers University, Clematis are “occasionally severely damaged” by deer. But Missouri Botanical Garden says clematis tolerate deer. Let us know about your experience!

photo credit: Leo Berbee Bulb Company