Blue clematis is a perennial vine that grows in the open mixed forests of our area. We most often see it in gullies, where it climbs up shrubs to get to the sunlight. Even in the garden, we use the phrase “heads in the sun, feet in the shade.” For this reason, it will not be found on south-facing, exposed hillsides. It can easily be spotted in Peterson Creek, Tranquille Creek, or any mid-elevation gully where the low point is out of the drying sun. The vines grow up to 5m and drape themselves over their neighbors. The blue flowers emerge in summer.

If the vine gets enough sunshine, flowers are numerous, but most vines have sparse flowering if the ground dries quickly in late spring.

In the Kamloops area, we see it draping over woody shrubs – saskatoon, red ossier dogwood, and wild rose, but we also have spotted it circling up the trunks of cottonwood trees.

Clematis has been cultivated and bred into many garden varieties. The “queen of vines” graces my yard each summer.