Ground clematis 'Purpurea'
Clematis recta 'Purpurea' · Ranunculaceae
New shoots and leaves come up rich purple in spring and slowly turn green, under a foam of small, starry, sweetly scented white flowers in early summer.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around ground clematis 'Purpurea'
The planner designed this bed around ground clematis 'Purpurea' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why ground clematis 'Purpurea' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ground clematis 'Purpurea' × 1, white
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 5, tan
- 3 Winter heath × 11, pink
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 5 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 6 White sage 'Valerie Finnis' × 3, silver leaves
- 7 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are spires, bells, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With moor grass 'Greenlee' and Schubert's allium in early June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers run from late January to late September: 36 weeks in all. Cool colours (pink and blue) with yellow as the warm note, and white and tan to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where ground clematis 'Purpurea' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A herbaceous clematis for the back of the border. It must have support: grow it through a tall peony ring or pea sticks. The dark spring growth is a fine setting for tulips.
- Purple spring foliage
- Scented white flowers in early summer
- The back of a mixed border
What to plant with ground clematis 'Purpurea'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for three weeks, from early June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Delphinium: in flower together for four weeks, from late June.
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant': in flower together for six weeks, from early June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about ground clematis 'Purpurea'
Does ground clematis 'Purpurea' need sun or shade?
Ground clematis 'Purpurea' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does ground clematis 'Purpurea' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does ground clematis 'Purpurea' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 5 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 9 | Late May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should ground clematis 'Purpurea' be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ground clematis 'Purpurea' plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is ground clematis 'Purpurea' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts cause burning and ulcers in the mouth, vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten, in people and pets. The sap can irritate skin.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like ground clematis 'Purpurea'?
These come closest to doing what ground clematis 'Purpurea' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Flat-topped aster: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early August to mid September, wants moist soil.
- Foxglove beardtongue: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in shorter, 12 in narrower.
- Italian bugloss 'Dropmore': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in shorter, 12 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat ground clematis 'Purpurea'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after ground clematis 'Purpurea'?
Ground clematis 'Purpurea' is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall.
- Tiger lily: from late July to late August, 4 ft tall.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does ground clematis 'Purpurea' look like in winter?
Ground clematis 'Purpurea' dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is ground clematis 'Purpurea' good for bees and butterflies?
Ground clematis 'Purpurea' is visited by bees, butterflies and songbirds.
More Clematis
- Solitary clematis Clematis integrifolia
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Tall perennials and grasses for the back of a border
- Plants for a white garden
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July; airy sprays; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; purple, burgundy
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern, Southern, Central Europe to Caucasus
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, black walnut
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.