Stand by Me Pink is a bushy, non-vining clematis with nodding pink bell flowers. Blooms begin in late spring, peak in early summer and keep appearing into fall, followed by feathery cream seed heads.
It grows about 3 to 3.5 feet tall and 2 feet wide and regrows from the ground each spring. Give it a cage or sturdy neighbors to lean on. It is a charming choice for cottage borders and fresh bouquets.
What it looks like
A bushy, herbaceous plant about 38 to 42 inches tall and 24 to 26 inches wide with many slender, leaning stems. Leaves are broad, simple, oval and medium green, 3 to 4 inches long. Nodding, bell-shaped flowers about 1.5 inches long, with four thick, recurved sepals in medium rose pink with slightly paler edges, hang from the stem tips and upper leaf joints. Silky, cream thread-like seed heads follow the flowers. At peak bloom the plant is covered in dangling pink bells.
Growing it with lavender
It likes sun as lavender does, and its pink bells beside lavender's purple spikes make a classic cottage-garden pairing in early summer, in a spot with a bit more moisture.
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: Rose pink
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Foliage: Medium green
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Growth habit: Bushy, upright to leaning
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Mature size: 38–42 in tall × 24–26 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: Long 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.