Clematis viticella Glorious Cloud

Clematis viticella Glorious® Cloud (‘Zo25005’) is a descendant of the Italian clematis, renowned for its long summer flowering and ease of cultivation. Its large, distinctly bicoloured star-shaped flowers, edged with violet-purple on a white background, are visible from afar in the garden. It will climb over a pergola, trellis, obelisk, or into a vigorous rose. This variety will also thrive in a large pot if its roots are kept cool.

A climbing plant from the Ranunculaceae family, Clematis viticella is a wild species native to southern Europe and western Asia. It is found in woodland edges and clear thickets from Portugal and Italy to the Balkans and Iran.
Glorious Cloud (‘Zo25005’), bred by the Dutch breeder J. van Zoest B.V., is part of the GLORIOUS® series. It is a deciduous, climbing plant with quite rapid growth, reaching approximately 3 m in height with a spread of 1.5–2 m in open ground, or 2 m to 2.50 m in a large pot. It is twining, its stems attaching via leaf petioles transformed into tendrils. Its leaves have medium green, ovate to lanceolate leaflets. They dry and fall in autumn. Flowering occurs on the current year's shoots from June to September; the flowers, borne singly or in pairs, measure 8 to 10 cm in diameter. They open horizontally or slightly inclined towards the ground. Each one has four broad tepals with a pointed tip, slightly twisted, with a very distinct broad central white band and a pronounced violet-purple margin; their reverse is purplish. The centre of the corollas shows stamens with cream filaments and pale yellow anthers. After flowering, achenes topped with a silvery, feathery style form, a decorative touch at the end of the season. Hardy down to −28 °C in well-drained soil, this viticella is not very susceptible to clematis wilt.

Train this Glorious Cloud variety over an arch or lattice screen near a pathway to enjoy its prolonged flowering. It mingles with climbing roses with pastel flowers like Nahéma, Climbing Opalia or New Dawn. Also, let it weave through shrubs such as Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle. You can pair it with another clematis from the viticella group like ‘Huldine’ or ‘Polish Spirit’ to vary the forms and colours.