Stand by Me is a non-vining clematis that grows as a bushy perennial and dies back to the ground each winter. In late spring and early summer it is hung with nodding, bell-shaped blue flowers, with a few more appearing later in summer.
After bloom, silky cream seed heads add a second season of interest. The plant grows about 3 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide; a peony cage or neighboring plants will help hold it upright. It is a fine addition to a sunny border or a cutting garden.
What it looks like
A bushy, herbaceous plant about 34 to 38 inches tall and 2 to 3 feet wide with many slender stems that lean without support. Leaves are broad, simple, oval and medium green, 3 to 4 inches long, with young leaves showing a bronze tint on the undersides. Nodding, bell-shaped flowers about 1.5 inches long, with four thick, recurved sepals in medium blue and pale edges, hang singly from the stem tips and upper leaf joints. After bloom, fluffy cream-colored thread-like seed heads form. At peak bloom the plant is dotted with dozens of dangling blue bells.
Growing it with lavender
It enjoys the same sun as lavender and blooms with early lavender, so its nodding blue bells make a soft companion in a slightly richer spot near the lavender bed.
Care
Grow in full sun to part shade in average, well-drained soil with regular water; avoid spots that stay soggy. Hardy in zones 3-7. Set a peony cage or stakes over it in spring, and cut the stems to the ground in late fall or early spring since it regrows from the base each year.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Clematis
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Flower color: Medium blue
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Foliage: Medium green with bronze-tinted new growth
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Growth habit: Bushy, upright to leaning
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Mature size: 34–38 in tall × 24–36 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–7
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Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
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Bloom start: Late-May
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Peak bloom: Mid-June
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Bloom pattern: Repeat Blooming
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Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.
Lavender companion · grow guide
Community Grower Report
