Award-winning Guernsey clematis breeder Raymond Evison Clematis is set to officially unveil three new compact cultivars at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. These innovative varieties reach just three to four feet in height, making them exceptionally well-suited for containers and confined areas such as city gardens, balconies, and small urban plots.
New Compact Clematis Varieties for 2026
The three new introductions include C. Ithemba, which displays elegant white flowers with a subtle pink stripe; C. 'Eliza', a large-flowered type that transitions beautifully from pale blue to pure white; and C. 'Queens Nurse', showcasing deep, rosy pink blooms. Currently available for purchase through the breeder's website, these varieties will also appear in garden centres across the country from mid-April onwards, offering gardeners an exciting new range of options for compact spaces.
Perfect for Urban Gardens and Containers
According to gardening expert Hannah Stephenson, certain clematis varieties are perfectly suited to compact spaces, challenging the traditional perception of these plants as large climbers. Andy Jeanes, international sales and marketing director at Guernsey Clematis, emphasises their suitability for urban environments: "They're perfect for a small urban garden because they're only going to get to about four or five feet tall. Containers are perfect. You could have them against the back wall of your house or plant them in the garden as they don't take up much horizontal space - it's all vertical."
The appeal of these compact varieties lies in their ability to produce flowers from the plant's base right to the top, ensuring gardeners won't end up with bare, woody stems at the bottom with blooms only at the peak. Remarkably, the flowers remain just as impressive as their taller, large-flowered relatives that typically bloom during spring and summer months.
Container Gardening Advice
For successful container cultivation, Jeanes recommends using a minimum-size container of 18 inches (450cm) cubed with adequate drainage holes. "Clematis hate to be wet over winter, so you'll need plenty of drainage, good free-draining compost and underplant them with some bedding or trailing plants to go over the outside of the container," he advises.
Watering should be moderate - never overwater. Jeanes provides crucial feeding advice: "As soon as you see the first flower buds being produced, start feeding them with a high potash feed, something like a tomato feed, and continue to feed them until the first flowers are just about to open, then stop feeding. That will stress the plant even further, which will produce more blooms."
Hanging Baskets and Window Boxes
Dwarf clematis varieties also thrive exceptionally well in hanging baskets or sizeable window boxes, where they'll cascade downwards amongst neighbouring plants. In his book, Clematis For Small Spaces, Raymond Evison suggests compact options like C 'Bijou' 'Evipo030', a delicate violet blue variety reaching 30-60cm, perfect for small to medium-sized pots as well as window boxes and hanging baskets.
"They look fantastic in hanging baskets," Jeanes agrees. "Instead of growing up, they cascade down." He recommends pairing them with grey-leaved plants and mauve blooms for a harmonious and visually striking display that maximises limited space.
Support and Planting Combinations
For those climbing vertically in containers, some form of framework is essential. "They are semi self-clinging, so they need some structure. They'll hold on to a cane and twirl around it, no problem," says Jeanes. Gardeners might need to secure them to a substantial post or fix thinner materials like string for them to climb effectively.
Jeanese suggests combining two contrasting shades in a single pot to achieve striking results. After flowering finishes, deadheading them and treating them like roses can encourage additional blooms. Clematis perform best with shaded roots, so in containers and baskets, positioning other plants around them helps establish a beneficial micro-climate.
"Mix planting in containers with foliage plants such as thyme, saxifraga or any similar ground cover or trailing plants, or bedding of any mix," he recommends, creating attractive and practical planting schemes.
Summer Care and Dormancy
During particularly hot summers, clematis plants may enter summer dormancy once temperatures climb above 27°C. "They'll go a bit yellow on the foliage and look like they have a drought problem, but actually they've gone into dormancy," Jeanes explains. "One of the biggest killers of clematis in the summer is people thinking that they're too dry. So don't overwater them."
The only reliable method to determine whether the plant requires watering is to insert your finger into the compost to assess moisture content directly. As temperatures begin dropping in late August and September, the clematis typically resume growth, and gardeners might even enjoy a welcome second wave of blooms, extending the flowering season.
Other Compact Varieties
Other breeders are also developing distinctive compact types suitable for small spaces. The Dutch-bred Clematis tangutica 'Little Lemons' represents a particularly compact plant that looks entirely different to its larger relatives and works perfectly for patios, rockeries, hanging baskets or larger windowboxes. Reaching just 45cm in height, it produces small yellow, drooping bell-shaped flowers across several months, delivering a lengthy period of visual interest. Once the flowers fade, attractive, feathery seedheads emerge, adding further seasonal interest.
These developments in compact clematis breeding represent a significant advancement for urban gardeners and those with limited outdoor space, offering the beauty and versatility of traditional clematis in forms perfectly adapted to contemporary living conditions and space constraints.
