Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’, is a strong growing plant with very large (7-8”) wide semi-double or single flowers in early summer, and smaller single flowers mid-to-late summer, produced in good numbers. No wonder it is a past Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit winner.
A free flowering, good value plant
The flowers have tepals which fade gradually from the deep purple blue, with plummy
highlights at opening, to a purple-blue, with creamy yellow anthers. The pleasing flowers
are ideal for container culture. And Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ also produces
the most attractive seed heads of any clematis.
For though ‘Daniel Deronda’ can indeed produce fully double flowers in its Spring bloom, in most situations it is more likely to come up semi-double or single, and that is the way it is almost always described in nursery catalogues. What is most interesting about the plant, however – and it is surprising how little is made of this in the usual descriptions – is the almost endless variability of the individual blossoms, especially those in the spring, which are predictably larger and more complex than those that follow on new wood later in the year.
In its simplest form, the blossom consists of seven or eight upward-facing sepals overlapping at the base, then narrowing sufficiently toward the pointed tips, to suggest a star-shape, rather than a wheel. They have a slight ripple along the margins, and the interior surfaces are so densely veined that they are full of minute hills and valleys. Hence they seldom lie completely flat. At the center of each sepal, the midrib that becomes a contrasting bar in so many clematis is a slender track of varying color, sometimes prominent, sometimes not.
Openness of structure helps to make this plant a good companion for others. It has been much used with roses and with other clematis that normally have their main grooming after the Spring bloom. But ‘Daniel’ is also a plant simply on its own – climbing a fence or lamppost, decorating a mailbox, arching across an arbor or trellis, or peeking out from among rose bushes. And the repeat bloom in late summer, by the way, though it may lack the 7 to 8 inch expansiveness of the spring blossoms, has a satisfying beauty and energy.
Exquisite for cutting, they may be floated in a bowl or wired to face outward in a bouquet. Even the unique, attractive, swirling seed heads can be used to create stunning flower arrangements, as you see in the picture above.
Daniel Deronda is a zone 4-9 plant and therefore hardy throughout our northeast region. It is easy to grow, and is not prone to any major plant diseases or pests.
Flower Color: Purple-blue shades
Foliage Color: Medium green shades
Sun Tolerance: Full sun
Preferred Soil Type: Moist, well-drained soils
USDA Plant Hardiness: Zone 4–9
Plant Height: 6-8’
Plant Spread: 2-3’
Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ is one of the several classic hybrids we owe to Charles Noble of Sunningdale Nurseries. Reportedly it was from a cross between C. lanuginosa and a seedling of 'Fortunei' x patens – a powderkeg of possibilities.
Noble was an admirer of the novelist Mary Ann Evans, known to fame as George Eliot – and though the clematis he named after her has not survived, this one, named for the title character of one of her novels, continues to serve as a worthy tribute. Noble introduced it in 1882. Just over a century later it received its English accolade: an Award of Garden Merit (AGM 1993). Possibly some of the judges were slow readers.
Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ is just one more example of how our Garden Splendor® brand of plants bring you “the best of the tried and true and the most promising of the exciting and new!”
Listen to what David Wilson, our Garden Splendor® expert, has to say about Clematis
‘Daniel Deronda’.
[Running Time: 11:21 minutes]
Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’, is a strong growing plant with very large (7-8”) wide semi-double or single flowers in early summer, and smaller single flowers mid-to-late summer, produced in good numbers. No wonder it is a past Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit winner.
A free flowering, good value plant
The flowers have tepals which fade gradually from the deep purple blue, with plummy
highlights at opening, to a purple-blue, with creamy yellow anthers. The pleasing flowers
are ideal for container culture. And Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ also produces
the most attractive seed heads of any clematis.
For though ‘Daniel Deronda’ can indeed produce fully double flowers in its Spring bloom, in most situations it is more likely to come up semi-double or single, and that is the way it is almost always described in nursery catalogues. What is most interesting about the plant, however – and it is surprising how little is made of this in the usual descriptions – is the almost endless variability of the individual blossoms, especially those in the spring, which are predictably larger and more complex than those that follow on new wood later in the year.
In its simplest form, the blossom consists of seven or eight upward-facing sepals overlapping at the base, then narrowing sufficiently toward the pointed tips, to suggest a star-shape, rather than a wheel. They have a slight ripple along the margins, and the interior surfaces are so densely veined that they are full of minute hills and valleys. Hence they seldom lie completely flat. At the center of each sepal, the midrib that becomes a contrasting bar in so many clematis is a slender track of varying color, sometimes prominent, sometimes not.
Openness of structure helps to make this plant a good companion for others. It has been much used with roses and with other clematis that normally have their main grooming after the Spring bloom. But ‘Daniel’ is also a plant simply on its own – climbing a fence or lamppost, decorating a mailbox, arching across an arbor or trellis, or peeking out from among rose bushes. And the repeat bloom in late summer, by the way, though it may lack the 7 to 8 inch expansiveness of the spring blossoms, has a satisfying beauty and energy.
Exquisite for cutting, they may be floated in a bowl or wired to face outward in a bouquet. Even the unique, attractive, swirling seed heads can be used to create stunning flower arrangements, as you see in the picture above.
Daniel Deronda is a zone 4-9 plant and therefore hardy throughout our northeast region. It is easy to grow, and is not prone to any major plant diseases or pests.
Flower Color: Purple-blue shades
Foliage Color: Medium green shades
Sun Tolerance: Full sun
Preferred Soil Type: Moist, well-drained soils
USDA Plant Hardiness: Zone 4–9
Plant Height: 6-8’
Plant Spread: 2-3’
Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ is one of the several classic hybrids we owe to Charles Noble of Sunningdale Nurseries. Reportedly it was from a cross between C. lanuginosa and a seedling of 'Fortunei' x patens – a powderkeg of possibilities.
Noble was an admirer of the novelist Mary Ann Evans, known to fame as George Eliot – and though the clematis he named after her has not survived, this one, named for the title character of one of her novels, continues to serve as a worthy tribute. Noble introduced it in 1882. Just over a century later it received its English accolade: an Award of Garden Merit (AGM 1993). Possibly some of the judges were slow readers.
Clematis ‘Daniel Deronda’ is just one more example of how our Garden Splendor® brand of plants bring you “the best of the tried and true and the most promising of the exciting and new!”
Listen to what David Wilson, our Garden Splendor® expert, has to say about Clematis
‘Daniel Deronda’.
[Running Time: 11:21 minutes]