Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’

Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’ is a beloved classic that has graced British gardens since 1897, and it’s easy to see why it remains so popular. We adore its magnificent, star-shaped flowers, which are a beautiful pale mauve-pink, each petal dramatically adorned with a deeper carmine-pink stripe down the centre. These impressive blooms, often reaching 15-20cm across, create a captivating display, and we’ve observed them performing reliably year after year in our nursery. It’s a real showstopper that rightly holds the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit.

To get the best from ‘Nelly Moser’, we recommend planting it in a spot where its ‘head is in the sun and its feet are in the shade’ – this means ensuring the foliage receives plenty of light, but the roots are kept cool and moist. A fertile, well-drained soil is ideal, and it’s quite adaptable, performing well in everything from chalk to loam, preferring a neutral to alkaline pH. Keep the soil consistently moist, especially during dry spells, and apply a good mulch around the base to help retain moisture and keep those roots cool. This clematis is fully hardy throughout the UK, tolerating temperatures down to -15 to -20°C.

As a Group 2 clematis, ‘Nelly Moser’ benefits from a light prune in late winter or early spring to remove any dead or weak stems, cutting back to the topmost pair of strong, healthy buds. After its spectacular first flush of flowers in late spring/early summer, we advise another light tidy-up, removing spent blooms to encourage a second, slightly smaller, wave of flowers later in the season. Its ultimate height typically reaches between 2.5 to 3 metres, making it an excellent choice for training over arches, pergolas, or fences. We particularly love it weaving through climbing roses, where their combined blooms create a truly romantic effect. It’s also suitable for larger containers, provided its roots are kept cool and watered regularly.