The Pretty Pink Clematis Variety That Can Grow Against Shrubs And Trees

If there's one flowering vine family that boasts enough members to suit just about every taste and need, it's the Clematis genus of flowering climbers. Want a deep purple rambler tall enough to reach your second-story bedroom, or a 1-footer with white blooms on your micro-balcony? There's a clematis for that. And, in recent years, the pink-flowering 'Sarah Elizabeth' cultivar (Clematis 'Sarah Elizabeth' or 'Evipo098') has joined that clan. This new clematis, introduced in 2018, is diminutive enough to be perfect for your balcony or patio, but not so small that it can't climb small shrubs or dress up tree bases.

Created by botanist Raymond Evison, soft-pink 'Sarah Elizabeth' is part of Evison's Boulevard series of "compact patio" clematis vines. 'Sarah Elizabeth' is actually one of the taller of the Boulevard series. The bushy vine grows up to 5 feet in height. Each star-shaped flower has about six or seven ruffled petals of light pink and reaches up to 7 inches across. The light pink blooms are punctuated by burgundy-red stamen centers.

Best of all, 'Sarah Elizabeth' is a repeating bloomer, meaning that it will bear from spring to fall. The vine represents a great way to add beautiful pink flowers to brighten up areas with some shade. Like all members of the bushy Boulevard series, the 'Sarah Elizabeth' vines themselves are lush and wide, meaning that even in intervals when only a few flowers might be blooming on them, they still offer plenty of greenery.

Not all clematis are suited to partial shade, but 'Sarah Elizabeth' is one of the groups of the vine family that will thrive under these conditions. Not only does it make the diminutive rambler perfect for a trellis on a dappled-sunlight patio, but it also allows it to thrive under a tree's partial canopy, or when intertwined with the branches of a small bush. It can also handle full sun.

When planting clematis in the ground near a bush or tree, prepare the site carefully. The soil should be well-draining and rich in organic matter. Establish the plant lower in the ground than it was in the container, ideally with the bottom two leaf nodes buried in the soil. Set 2 to 4 inches of mulch around the vine, but don't let the mulch material touch the stem. If you're growing more than one 'Sarah Elizabeth' clematis along a row of shrubs or trees, set each one 3 to 4 feet apart from the others.

'Sarah Elizabeth' is perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9. It is considered a Group 3, or "hard prune" clematis type. This type of clematis blooms only on new wood. That makes pruning decisions relatively easy, with no need to discern between new and old growth before cutting. Give these perennials a hard prune in March or so. Cut the entire plant close to the ground in order to encourage lush growth starting in spring. Once spring arrives, apply a fertilizer that is lower in nitrogen than other nutrients.