Gravetye Beauty Clematis texensis Clematis Plant

No gardener with a patch of bare sunny soil remaining should be without 'Gravetye Beauty.' Developed more than 110 years ago, it offers a remarkable history and remains among the loveliest of all Clematis cultivars, with a very long season of bloom and fall-to-winter interest from silvery seedheads as well.

'Gravetye Beauty' was developed in France in 1900, one of a great batch of cultivars from a French breeder. Subsequently it was given, along with many others, to the great British garden designer William Robinson, who planted it in his own garden at Gravetye Manor. (Interestingly, it would have been cultivated there by another name familiar to us through Clematis -- Robinson's head gardener, Ernest Markham!)

Robinson quickly realized the exceptional merit of this seletion of the native Texas species, named it 'Gravetye Beauty,' and released it in 1915, to great fanfare. The applause has still not died down, nearly 100 years later!

'Gravetye Beauty' is a particularly vivid shade of red, its petals small, neatly pleated down the center, and widely spaced. Reaching a full 3 inches wide, they are eye-catching from across the garden, whether for their color or their distinctive 4-petaled shape (with a tiny creamy-yellow eye), who can say?

The blooms begin in midsummer in most climates and continue straight through the late-summer doldrums and into fall, a season of between two and three months in many areas and closer to four in a fortunate few. When the last flowers pass, it is difficult to mourn them, for showy silvery seedheads have arisen to take their place. These remain on the plant into winter, adding a little sculptural beauty to the show.

'Gravetye Beauty' reaches about 8 to 12 feet high traveling up a trellis, through a fence, or across the garden floor. Like all Clematis, it prefers its roots cool and its tops warm, so mulch it in well and give it blazing sun! You will love the result.

This Clematis is a fine companion to climbing roses, so consider twining it up and through something that will create brilliant color contrast as well as offer delicious fragrance. And if you like Texas Clematis (who doesn't, really?), consider finding space for 'Princess Diana' as well! Pruning Group III. Zones 5-9.