Clematis 'The First Lady'

150-396-1 Clematis 'The First Lady'
Joy Creek Photo Archive (c) all rights reserved	There are not that many American clematis hybrids that have made it into world commerce. Clematis 'The First Lady' (A.H. Steffen, 1978) is one of them. Very large silvery blue flowers have overlapping sepals with frilly margins. The filaments are white with attractively contrasting red purple anthers. All of our Clematis are two year old plants that are suitable for immediate planting in your garden. May to June; August to September. 6-9 ft. Blue Violet flowers *Sun, Part Shade Zones 5, 6, 7, 8*
Early flowering in the spring on the previous year's growth. If you hard prune, you eliminate most or all of the early blooms. Instead, groom this after flowering by cutting back the top one-third to one-half of some stems. This encourages new growth for possible summer bloom.