6 fabulous fragrant clematis

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Clematis is a famous climbing vine. All varieties bear beautiful flowers. Some also add a delicious fragrant scent to their blooming! Here are a few of the best fragrant clematis vines.

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• Caring for clematis
• All about clematis

Clematis vines are fragrant, but their strength of their scent depends on many factors. For most varieties, the only way to clearly smell their perfume is to stick your nose in the flower! Luckily, some species and varieties have a more heady, wide-spreading fragrance.

Clematis x aromatica, Six fragrant clematis compared

Scent is only half the choice: flowering time and final height decide where each of these clematis will actually work. Here are the six side by side.

Between them, these six carry scent through the garden from midwinter right round to autumn.

the clematis with the strongest scent

This dark-flowered clematis has a strong scent that reminds one of vanilla with a touch of orange. It’s a hybrid of two lesser-known species, C. flammula and C. integrifolia. It appeared in France in the mid-19^th century and has been in cultivation ever since.

Part of the small-flowered clematis group, flowers rarely exceed 2 inches across (5 cm). Deep violet petals open up to reveal a cluster of ivory-cream scented stamens.  Great for growing in pots. Must be protected from freezing in winter.

• Blooming period: Early summer through early autumn
• Height: not a good climber, peaks at 6 feet / 2 meters tall
• Scent: vanilla, orange

Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’, hardy and drought-tolerant

Thought to also include Clematis crispa parentage, the ‘Betty Corning’ clematis bears abundant scented bell-shaped flowers. Pale at the beginning of summer, hues darken as temperatures rise. Discovered by Elizabeth Corning in 1932.

Flowers form cute bells, with petals curling upwards as the flower ages. Can survive drought for several weeks, but flowers best if watered. Copes with freezing well.

• Blooming period: Early summer to early autumn
• Height: more a shrub than a climbing vine, peaks at 9 feet / 3 meters tall
• Scent: sweet, rose-like

Clematis x triternata ‘Rubromarginata’, heavy bloomer & heady scent

This clematis bears hundreds of flowers. Each releases a strong scent similar to the taste of almonds. An excellent climber, it can cover walls if given a trellis to latch on to. Hybrid, reportedly, of C. flammula and C. viticella, discovered like the aromatica around 1860.

Flowers are small, only about an inch across (2-3 cm), but they’re strongly scented. Four narrow petals are white towards the center and pastel purple at the curved tips. Hardy.

• Blooming period: Early summer, midsummer and late summer
• Height: towers to 20 feet / 6 meters tall
• Scent: almondy

Clematis armandii ‘Apple blossom’, a fragrant evergreen clematis

Like other Clematis armandii, the ‘Appleblossom’ cultivar releases an almond-like scent. Now produced by major horticulture companies, it’s easily available.

Flowers are like upside-down crocus blossoms, a fresh pastel pink hue. Thick, lanceolate leaves are dark green and droop down, giving this excellent climber a willow-like appearance even in winter since leaves stay on the vine.

• Blooming period: Early summer, midsummer and late summer
• Height: climbs up to 25 feet / 8 meters
• Scent: almond-like, marzipan

• Prune ‘Apple blossom’ only once the flowers have faded, because it belongs to clematis pruning group one and forms its buds on the previous year’s growth.
• Cutting back hard into old bare wood is risky, as armandii regrows from it reluctantly.
• For vigorous woody climbers such as wisteria, install strong wires or a heavy timber trellis before planting, because their thickening stems build into a dense, top-heavy mass that lightweight supports cannot carry.

Clematis montana ‘Mayleen’, a strong-scented Mountain clematis

C. montana varieties are among the most fragrant, together with cultivars of the armandii species listed above. Still, a few champions have a unique scent, among them the ‘Mayleen’.

Each flower has four soft, pinkish petals that overlap slightly as they unfurl. Leaves are trifoliate, and each leaflet has a couple serrations near its tip. If allowed to dangle from an arbor, it’ll bless you with a waterfall of flowers!

• Blooming period: Late spring and early summer, sometimes midsummer
• Height: reaches 30 feet / 10 meters
• Scent: vanilla

Clematis cirrhosa ‘Jingle Bells’, a citrus-y scented winter clematis

This family is unique in that it blooms in winter. Not all C. cirrhosa cultivars are fragrant, but the ‘Jingle Bells’ has a light, tangy citrus-like smell that appears on mature flowers.

Four pristine white petals open up under each flower, hanging down like little bells. Also nice in pots, it’s a slow grower that only needs pruning if it gets in the way. The photo here was taken just days before Christmas. A fitting garden ornament, don’t you think?

• Blooming period: Early winter, midwinter, late winter
• Height: reaches 12 feet / 3 meters
• Scent: light, lemony scent

Beyond the six above, a handful of other widely sold clematis carry a genuine perfume. Use the table to match flowering time, final size and pruning group to the spot you have in mind.

• ‘Elizabeth’ is a Clematis montana, so expect the same vigour as ‘Mayleen’ and give it a big wall, a mature tree or a long pergola rather than a narrow trellis.
• ‘Wyevale’ is a non-climbing, woody-based herbaceous clematis listed as Clematis heracleifolia or, in newer treatments, C. tubulosa; grow it in a border and cut the old stems back low in late winter.
• Clematis recta ‘Purpurea’ is a non-climbing herbaceous clematis whose lax stems sprawl rather than cling, so support it with hoops or stakes early in the season before the growth flops.