Clematis As Cut Flowers

Fifteen years ago, I gave a lecture on clematis to a large garden club and the coordinator requested cut flowers from the nursery for the tables in the room. She arrived with a helper the day before with water picks and foam blocks to harvest fresh flowers from our plants. Most of our clematis will bloom right on the greenhouse benches if allowed to grow out a bit. Knowing she was coming, we delayed the regular maintenance trim in a few key places. They were able to take a really nice assortment of large-flowered hybrids, native clematis and others back to create arrangements. After the meeting, they gave the arrangements away to attendees who reported up to two weeks longevity on the flowers!

If you'd like to try this yourself, here are some techniques that will help them look their best for a long time:

Cutting early in the morning is usually best. Water the plants the evening before. Cutting clematis in the evening can work well, too, to avoid water stress. Choose flowers that are just opening to almost fully open. Ones that have already spread their stamens and released pollen are more mature and won't last as long. Tight buds may or may not open and usually won't reach full potential. They can still be used but should be considered for their contribution to the arrangement as buds.

Cut the clematis stems as long as possible for conditioning, back to the lower area of the stem where it has turned brown. Later, they can be cut down to the length needed when arranging. Cut sturdy stems from healthy plants. Do this for any plant. Remove most or all of the leaves to cut down on transpiration. Once the flowers are cut, place them in clean cool water immediately. Soaking the entire stem in water for a few hours is often recommended. Adding a little bit of sugar (1tsp) and a few drops of bleach to the vase may also help prolong the life of the flowers. Changing the water and trimming the stems every couple of days will help, too. Longer stems can be supported with floral stem wire. Clematis seed heads offer a nice touch in an arrangement, too. Many will even persist on the stem long enough to be used for dried arrangements.

Place the arrangement out of direct light and enjoy! Here are some of the clematis that will perform well as cut flowers:

Clematis 'Carnaby',
Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud',
Clematis 'Daniel Deronda',
Clematis 'Dr Ruppel',
Clematis 'Duchess of Edinburgh',
Clematis x durandii
Clematis 'General Sikorski',
Clematis 'H.F. Young',
Clematis 'Hagley Hybrid',
Clematis 'Inspiration',
Clematis 'Julka',
Clematis 'Kardynal Wyszynski',
Clematis 'Lasurstern',
Clematis 'Monte Cassino',
Clematis 'Mrs. Cholmondeley',
Clematis 'Nelly Moser',
Clematis 'Niobe',
Clematis 'Piilu',
Clematis 'Polish Spirit',
Clematis 'Snow Queen',
Clematis texensis,
Clematis 'The President',
Clematis 'Ville de Lyon',
Clematis viorna,
Clematis 'Vyvyan Pennnell',
Clematis 'Warszaw Nike',
Clematis 'Westerplatte',