In the cold short days of winter when perennial plants and deciduous trees have lost their leaves and are hibernating, there are a few plants that are still in flower. This is the time when winter flowering clematis are in their element and on even the dullest cold day they bring a touch of elegance and colour to winter gardens.
Clematis cirrhosa is a species that flowers through winter and can add beauty, colour and interest to brighten up your winter garden. A new addition to this group, C. 'Flamenco Twirl' has all these qualities and flowers from the end of November, through the Christmas period and into January/February.
C. 'Flamenco Twirl' was the result of a cross I made between C. cirrhosa var. balearica and C. napaulensis in December 2019. Viable seed was then planted in July 2020 and three promising seedlings were selected and grown on. These seedlings all had slender dark green finely divided leaves bearing a clear likeness to the fern like leaves of one of its parents; C. cirrhosa var. balearica, although uniquely much narrower and with an almost filigree appearance.
In November 2022 one plant started to form many flower buds. It was unclear at first whether the flowers would resemble either parent but my assumption based on the fern leaved foliage was that they would be similar to C. cirrhosa var. balearica.
By January 2023 the plant was in full flower and I was surprised and delighted to see that the flowers displayed inherited characteristics from both C. napaulensis and C. cirrhosa var. balearica.
The nodding bell-shaped flowers were small, 3.5-4.5 cms across but beautiful. The flower shape itself is from C. cirrhosa var. balearica although the tips and sides of the sepals are strongly recurved which hint at its C. napaulensis genes, giving the flowers a beautiful, graceful look. The colour of the flowers is similar to C. napaulensis; they start cream coloured with a hint of green then, as they age, fade to pure white.
Unlike C. cirrhosa var. balearica, the interior of the flowers is unspotted but a really noticeable feature is the prominent stamens with deep pink-red anthers and reddish filaments that, like C. napaulensis, cluster tightly around the pistil. Just like C. napaulensis the pistil noticeably elongates after pollination.
Another point of interest is that the pollen is a pink colour and the flowers produce lots of sticky nectar to attract pollinators, most noticeably early in the morning.
As to hardiness, the plant has spent several winters in a large pot outside in my garden in Leeds and has survived winter temperatures falling to -5°C and frost and snow does not seem to affect the flowers. I attribute its hardiness to its C. napaulensis genes – in this case the C. napaulensis parent plant originated from wild seed collected in the Himalaya mountain range by Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm Plants. It has been growing in my garden for 17 years now and survived winter temperatures of -10°C.
Although described as an evergreen, the plant, like others in the C. cirrhosa Group, does enter a summer dormancy period similar to plants that enter a winter dormancy, when it loses its leaves and appears almost dead with bare stems. This is thought to be an adaptation to help the plants in their native climate to survive through periods of extreme heat and low rainfall. However the plant is most certainly not dead, just resting and conserving its energy. It's important not to cut it back because in September, it springs back into life producing new green shoots and tiny flower buds which form on the old wood.
The plant has adjusted its flowering cycle since it was registered with the RHS and last year it flowered earlier, forming flower buds in September and flowering from November through to January/February.
I decided to name and register the plant C. 'Flamenco Twirl' to reflect the recurved shape of the flower and its Spanish origins. At present its not available to buy but I may explore whether it has any commercial potential.