Clematis Alice Fisk

The Clematis 'Alice Fisk' seduces with its large, finely crumpled lavender-blue star-shaped flowers, illuminated by cream-coloured bristly stamens, resembling delicate tissue paper. It is a highly floriferous climbing clematis that blooms regularly from May to September, only pausing during periods of intense heat. With a compact size and rapid growth, its voluble stems will not exceed 3-4m (10-13ft) in height, making it suitable for both open ground and container cultivation. Easy to grow, it simply requires placement in a bright location and keeping its base protected behind a ground cover plant, for example, in a well-drained, rich, and moist substrate.

The genus Clematis belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. 'Alice Fisk' is a horticultural cultivar created in 1965 by Jim Fisk in England. It is a hybrid resulting from cross-breeding between the clematis 'Lasustern' and 'Mrs. Cholmondeley'.

It is a woody and climbing perennial plant with short stems, which will not exceed 4m (13ft) in height and has a spread of 2m (7ft). The deciduous leaves fall off in winter. They are a vibrant green and composed of 3 ovate to lanceolate leaflets, measuring 3 to 7cm (1 to 3in) long and 1.5 to 5cm (1 to 2in) wide, with relatively prominent veins. The flowers are composed of 6 elliptical and pointed tepals. They have a diameter of 12 to 20cm (5 to 8in). The flower is lavender-blue with cream-coloured stamens and red-bordeaux tips. The colour of the flowers tends to fade when fully bloomed, especially when the plant is grown in very sunny conditions. This clematis clings to support or host plants through voluble stems equipped with petioles transformed into tendrils. This variety is robust and hardy.

Plant your clematis alongside your climbing roses or vines to extend the flowering season of your walls and pergolas until the end of summer. This genus has a rich diversity, with flowers of all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of their easy cultivation to give your garden a romantic and bohemian touch. The surprising variety 'Alice Fisk', with its luminous flowers, will be perfect if allowed to climb on a slightly shady hedge. Thanks to its rather modest size, it will easily find its place in a small garden and will thrive in a pot on a balcony or next to an entrance door, embracing a small bamboo structure to welcome visitors with its magically coloured blooms.