Gardening,  Wildflowers

Clematis crispa | Texas Native Plant Week

Clematis crispa

clematis pod

It wasn’t until we moved to Texas that I discovered the awesomeness of native clematis species. We encountered this species while working Big Thicket National Preserve two years ago and since then we’ve become enamoured with the plant, looking for them in nurseries we visit. Ours is growing well on a trellis in our garden having put on blooms multiple times this summer. The bottom photo is from a seed pod we found in the Big Thicket. In Texas the species is located in moist areas in the southeastern section of the state, while the similar appearing Clematis pitcherii is found in the central and western portion of the state in mostly upland areas. That should help with identification problems if out in wild habitat.

Another interesting clematis in the state is Clematis texensis occurring in the Texas Hill Country. It can be easily found in Lost Maples State Park if you are looking in the right place and the Natives of Texas nursery has plants for sale, at least when we visited back in the spring, over in Kerrville.

Most people who grow clematis tend to grow the more showy non-native and hybrid varieties, but there’s something to be said for the species that are native to the United States.

Do you grow any clematis species?

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.