Interaktywna Encyklopedia Pnącza ogrodowe 2005 - vines in garden > articles about Clematis > Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ from the Tangutica Group


















































 




welcome!






vines in garden






encyclopaedia






our nursery






wholesale offer






links






contact


 






 
growing Clematis


 
articles about Clematis


 
other vines


 
applications of climbers







  
varieties

  
combined table

  
requirements

  
training

  
applications

  
planting

  
maintenance

  
pruning

  
diseases

  
pests

  
frost hardiness





  
Clematis alpina

  
Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’

  
Clematis 'Emilia Plater'

  
Clematis Integrifolia Group

  
Clematis ‘Praecox’

  
Clematis Viticella Group
     




  
Actinidia
          




  
on walls, arbors and pergolas

  
on fences and as screeners

  
over natural supports and as ground cover

  
in containers, on balconies and terraces

  
Clematis for cut flowers
      





 you are here:
vines in garden > articles about Clematis > Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ from the Tangutica Group


Clematis Tangutica Group ‘Bill MacKenzie’photo Sz. Marczyński


Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' from the Tangutica Group
Szczepan Marczyński



What makes
Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' worth cultivating is the fact that it remains attractive until late autumn and winter, adding interest to the garden. It's a vigorous vine using petioles (leaf stalks) to wrap around the supports, with ability to quickly cover tall fences, arbours or unsightly buildings. It grows up to 6-7 m and branches rapidly, but it's less rampant than
Fallopia Aubertii. The list of its virtues is quite extensive, with beautiful yellow flowers, silky seed heads, green leaves lasting well into early November, long flowering period, and low site requirements, as just some of the most prominent ones.

A member of Tangutica Group,



Clematis Tangutica Group ‘Bill MacKenzie’photo Sz. Marczyński


Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' has fairly large, 6-7 cm across, bell-shaped nodding flowers with thick textured dark yellow sepals and a tuft of crimson-brown stamens. Its bloom time starts around mid-June and ends with the first frosts (5oC below zero) at the beginning of November. In summer, after the first crop of flowers, silky seed heads start to form beside newly opened blossoms, gleaming in the sun and giving the plant a fluffy appearance. Towards the end of October the plant gets even more conspicuous - most of the neighbours' foliage is gone or, at best, has turned to yellow or brown whereas
Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' still boasts beautiful flowers and green leaves. During the winter withered leaves and seed heads, covered with hoar frost and snow, create a spectacular display.



Clematis Tangutica Group ‘Last Dance’ (Orange Peel) - photo Sz. Marczyński

It starts late in spring, and it's only around mid-April that its growth begins. Though slow in the beginning, it quickens toward flowering time, and in May the plant rapidly sends up shoots up to 4-5 m, so if the support is low (e.g. a fence 180-200 cm tall), the cultivar should be pruned in summer in order to prevent it from growing beyond whatever is supporting it, and becoming unsightly.



Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' thrives best in sunny or lightly shaded locations. It's fully hardy and quite undemanding, tolerates well dry poor soil, but will perform badly in dense and soppy one, so good drainage is essential. No special pruning is needed, but you can cut it back hard if you need to keep it in bounds. From a practical point of view this is best done somewhere around the end of March and the beginning of April, and the plant should be cut 10-30 cm from the ground.

It makes a great subject for a very effective screen, suitable for growing over tall fences, arbours, pergolas, or even scaling trees.


Clematis Tangutica Group ‘Bill MacKenzie’photo Sz. Marczyński


One of its close relatives from the Tangutica Group which can be used in a similar way is
Clematis 'Orange Peel', which has recently been renamed
'Last Dance' on account of its late bloom time.
It has small (4-5 cm across) intensely yellow flowers with exceptionally thick sepals that turn to orange-yellow after the first autumn chills. It flowering season starts in July-August but lasts well into mid-November.
It's a less vigorous grower than
Clematis 'Bill Mackenzie', reaching 3-5 m, has smaller green-blue leaves and is less free-flowering.






see also:

• Clematis 'Emilia Plater' (Viticella Group) • Clematis alpina • care and culture of Clematis • Clematis ‘Praecox’ from the Heracleifolia Group • Clematis 'Emilia Plater' (Viticella Group) • Clematis alpina • Clematis Integrifolia Group • Clematis Viticella Group • encyclopaedia • advanced search • applications of climbers • encyclopaedia

 

 vines in garden > articles about Clematis > Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ from the Tangutica Group
Last modification: 2005-01-23.

Design and realization of the pages: Grzegorz Marczyński. Website is managed by WMS.
(c) 2005 Szczepan Marczyński - All Rights Reserved - Copying of pictures and text prohibited.