Sugar Candy Clematis

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Full Sun

(At Least 3 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

7-8 Feet

Mature Spread

2-3 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 10

Looking like pink cotton candy with a dark pink star and yellow/white center, ‘Sugar Candy’ Clematis give credence to the saying everything is ‘pretty in pink.’ Large flowers measuring up to 7 inches across bloom freely throughout the late spring into the fall, blooming first on last year’s wood, then again and again on new growth throughout the summer. This tall vigorous climbing clematis will blow you away with its six petaled perfectly pink flowers on the apple green foliage. Pair this beauty with a dark purple climbing clematis and a white climbing clematis for a spectacular display in your summer to fall garden.

Native to China and the Himalayans, and further developed in Japan, Clematis can be found at higher elevations scrambling up rocky outcroppings in its race to the sun. Here in the United States, Sugar Candy Clematis is hardy to Zones 4 to 10, growing in most harsh winter areas in the North with ease and handling the hottest summer regions of the South and West. Clematis has been a favorite of perennial gardeners for hundreds of years around the world.

Sugar Candy Clematis Care

When grown in full sun, this pink beauty will be at its best as its color intensifies with exposure to the sun. It tolerates light shade, but that is best reserved for the hottest summer regions of its hardiness zone. Plant in clay, loam or sand that drains well. Clematis prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH range for maximum nutrient take up, and perform best with a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer like a 5-10-10, or a simple top dressing of well composted organic matter to feed the roots and promote flowering. Keep soil consistently moist, and cover the root zone with a ground cover, mulch or stones. Clematis likes its head hot and its feet shaded and cool. Plant in spring when the danger of the first frost has passed when first establishing it. The plant will decide when to break dormancy after the first year’s winter has passed.

Deadheading will encourage repeat flowering. Clip the spent flower and spidery seed head back to the first set of leaves to keep your plant neat and tidy. New stems will grow with more flower buds on them, giving you a full color show over a long blooming season. Leave the spidery seed heads on the vines in the fall if you like to see interesting textures in the winter time. Sugar Candy Clematis is in pruning group 2, which means it produces flowers on old growth and new growth.Prune carefully in late winter, early spring, and just remove any dead wood down to a new foliage bud. This perennial blooms first on old wood, then gives a second flush of flowers and continues to flower on the new growth. Pruning aggressively will ruin your chances at flowers in late spring. Mulch your clematis for the winter with 2 to 3 inches of a good quality pine mulch to protect the root zone.

Sugar Candy Clematis Spacing

Space your plants about 36 inches apart. This vine will grow to about 7 feet tall and spread out about 2 feet, twining around anything in its path. Give it support to climb on, like a pole, trellis or terrace wall, otherwise it will end up in a tangled mess on the ground and not do very well. Clematis do well in containers as well as planted in the ground. They look awesome at the base of arbors or gazebos when allowed to climb up and over, draping their lovely flowers everywhere. You are going to like having this beautiful perennial vine in your garden this spring.