Plant of the Moment: Clematis Lasiantha


When I returned to Tassajara last week for a brief visit, I was not surprised to find that the exciting display of wildflowers was over. No rains for months on end is normal in the California summer, and many plants go summer dormant or set fruit and scatter seeds for the next year. On of the exceptions is Clematis Lasiantha, the Chaparral clematis.

I saw her first on Wednesday morning as I was going for a stroll up the road. The trees and shrubs are quite dusty from the cars going back and forth, but one of the oaks was ornamented with a garland of clematis.


It was barely six o'clock and the light was still quite dim, but the creamy white blossoms stood out and the bees were already hard at work.


As I admired the delicate tendrils and beautiful flowers, I wondered whether my clematis at home had also finally opened its blossoms. I checked right away when I got home, and was delighted to find flowers on both of the two clematis plants I have.


I'm growing one plant in part shade, the other gets a little more sun. Both get fairly little water and seem to tolerate that. Regrettably, one of the plants goes dormant in August and doesn't green up again until March, but the other goes dormant later in the year. Both plants bloom a little more every year, and both are quite vigorous. California has only a few native vines, and having blooms in August is a double bonus.

Comments

Dear Town Mouse, Your last photograph is so like my Sweet Autumn Clematis (clematis ternifolia) that I love so much. I mention it in my latest posting. Clematis is my plant of the moment, too. P. x
ryan said…
Nice. I really like them. I have a three year old vine that still hasn't bloomed. I guess that means I'll be that much mroe happy when it does.
Country Mouse said…
My Boulder Creek Squirrels have some growing on their fence, that I planted - it's going gangbusters (but no flowers). I can't remember if it's C. lasiantha or C. ligustifolia. Interesting, I read that both are riparian, but C. lasiantha can take drier conditions. This article explains more about differences between them:
http://www.smmtc.org/plantofthemonth/plant_of_the_month_201005_Virgins_Bower.php.