Easy Clematis for Laidback Gardeners

Clematis have the reputation of being capricious… and there’s a lot of truth to that. Sometimes one will grow beautifully while its neighbor, even if it is the same cultivar, languishes and a third out-and-out dies. Yet the conditions are strictly identical! It’s enough to make you want to pull out your hair in frustration!

One way to avoid this problem is to plant varieties of clematis that are known for being easy to grow. The following list (not exhaustive by any means) gives you some suggestions of low-maintenance clematis that really will give good results almost every time:

Clematis alpina and its cultivars (‘Columbine’, ‘Francis Rivis’, ‘Jacqueline du Pré’, ‘Ruby’, etc.) zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Arabella’ zone 5 (USDA zone 6)
C. ‘Betty Corning’ zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Countess of Lovelace’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Elsa Spath’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Ernest Markham’ zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Gipsy Queen’ zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Guernesy Queen’ zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Hagley Hybrid’ (‘Pink Chiffon’) zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. heracleifolia zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Huldine’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. integrifolia zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Jackmanii’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Jackmanii Alba’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Jackmanii Superba’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Lady Betty Balfour’, zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. macropetala and its cultivars (‘Bluebird’, ‘Markham Pink’, ‘Rosy O’Grady’, ‘White Swan’, etc.) zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Madame Baron-Veillard’ zone 3
C. mandschurica zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Marie Boisselot’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. montana and its cultivars zone 7 (USDA zone 8)
C. ‘Nelly Moser’, zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘P.B. Truax’, zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘Perle d’Azur’, zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Ramona’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C. recta zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
C. ‘Rooguchi’ zone 4 (USDA zone 4)
C. tangutica and its cultivars and hybrids ( ‘Bill Mackenzie’, ‘Kigotia’ Golden Tiara®, ‘Helios’, etc.) zone 2 (USDA zone 3)
C. texensis and its cultivars zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C. ‘The President’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C.  ‘Ville de Lyon’ zone 3 (USDA zone 4)
C.  virginiana zone 2 (USDA zone 3)
C. viticella and its cultivars(‘Margot Koster’,‘Polish Spirit’, ‘Purpurea plena elegans’, ‘Royal Velours’, ‘Venosa Violacea’, etc.) zone 4 (USDA zone 5)
C.  ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ zone 5 (USDA zone 6)
C. ‘Warzawaska Nike’ (‘Warsaw Nike’) zone 3 (USDA zone 4)