Tangutica Bill Mackenzie Clematis

Clematis Tangutica 'Bill Mackenzie'

Clematis tangutica Bill Mackenzie is a large, vigorous climber which dazzles with a summer abundance of modestly sized, bright yellow nodding flowers over your wall, trellis, hedges or trees.

With fine cut leaves and thick curled back, bell-shaped flowers - stiff like orange-peel - they are real charmers. The flowers go on to become delightful very large feathery seed heads for the rest of the year.

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Great for your garden:

Bill Mackenzie will be happiest in alkaline or neutral soil and will do well in full sun or partial shade in any aspect. It would look fabulous up a house wall, along a trellis, or grown over a garden gateway, post or arch. It's big enough to climb trees too.

A later flowering variety, this is great choice for adding interest to the garden in the waning summer and autumn months.

• Has the RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Does very well in its natural habit growing through hedges or trees
• Mid-green foliage with fine cut leaves
• Appreciates a good feed and regular watering
• Flowers profusely
• Vigorous and hardy
• Shade the base with other low growing plants
• Prune hard in late winter

Bill Mackenzie characteristics.

• Bell-shaped bright yellow flowers
• Unscented
• Flowers July-September
• Lovely large silvery seed heads through winter
• Height up to 8m
• Spread up to 4m
• Tolerates hard winters and wind
• Pruning Group 3
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Look out for:

Largely disease free. There may be the occasional bit of damage from earwigs and aphids but Bill Mackenzie is largely trouble free and easy to grow.

Trivia:

'Bill Mackenzie' is also known as 'orange peel' clematis, for its thick, curled flowers. It was created by Valerie Finnis, a renowned plantswoman (and an exceptional plant photographer), and is a cross-breed of lematis orientalis and Clematis tangutica

Finnis named the cross after her 'great friend and mentor', Mackenzie, who was Curator at the Chelsea Physic Garden. He had spotted an unusually vigorous seedling during a visit to the Waterperry Horticultural School for Women near Oxford, where Finnis studied and then worked. They shared a love of Alpines.

Images supplied by Clematis on the Web.
Julian de Bosdari