This appropriately named eye-catching clematis has light mauvy-pink wavy margins and vibrant deep pink bars. Wow! A very compact, free-flowering climber perfect for a pot!
What she lacks in size she makes up for in quantity.
This is one of my favourite clematis and has been since I first set eyes on it back in 2008.
Ooh La La was bred by Mr Raymond Evison of Guernsey Clematis Nursery and was officially introduced in 2009 at Chelsea Flower Show. The plant was first shown to the public at a one off event held in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society and The Inner Temple Gardens where the event was held.
We also exhibited at the event, so that was the first time I saw the plant and Mr Evison had them in small pots, but really full of flower.
I was immediately captivated by the plant and have been ever since.
For a clematis to catch my eye so quickly is rare and what I particularly liked about it was the striking flower colour. With large blooms of 4 - 5 inches across and a vibrant pink bar down the centre of the mauvy-pink flowers, you can hear people say out loud "Wow look at that"!
The flower colour matures as the flowers age and the margins that start out quite crimped and wavey become less so as they get older as well, so each bloom has a fascinating journey of development.
We have used Ooh La La on our show exhibits for many years but one of my favourite occasions was Malvern Spring Festival 2019 when we planted Ooh La La and Olympia together in a container. Their habit and pruning requirements are the same so care is easy and the two are excellent companion plants.
View the picture above to see what a great combination they make together. Click here to find out more about Olympia
Pruning is best carried out in the mid spring each year, cutting all the stems down to around 6 - 12 inches from the soil, just above a new shoot. If you find you need a little more height to the plant you can prune less severely than this but you can expect strong growth each year of about 3 - 4 feet.
The flowering period is going to start in June and be semi-continuous through to September so long as you cut off the dead heads from the first few weeks of flowers. Keep a fortnightly liquid feed of tomato fertiliser going from mid April to the end of her flowering period to avoid her running out of steam.
Ooh La La was specifically cultivated for use in patio containers, however as a garden plant it will perform very well. Indeed I have found uses for these compact patio clematis within the garden that seem to suit them very well. I find that to place them in the ground at the base of a climbing rose will give them a good natural support to climb up and they also cover the bare stems at the bottom of the rose.
Ooh La La has a preference for a moist but free draining soil condition, so much the same as your roses will like, meaning they will co-habit well together.
Cultivation Advice.
These clematis prefer a good quality soil with high nutrient levels and a soil which is moist but free-draining. Improve planting holes with at least 2 forkfuls of well rotted manure or garden compost and if you don't have these use a 'Soil Improver' compost. The improvement material added should be placed under the root of the plant not around it. This encourages the roots to grow downwards and remain deep and cool during summer.There is no need to deadhead these clematis, however if they appear to have finished flowering earlier than you expected, there is no harm in giving them a light trim to encourage new growth and a secondary flowering late in the autumn.
Delivery from £7.99 and most customers never pay over £9.99!
We offer a year-round Mail Order and Delivery service (subject to weather and availability). We do not dispatch small or young plants, but send our mature plants in 3 litre pots anywhere in the United Kingdom and Europe.
We dispatch Monday to Thursday each week so usually your order will be dispatched within 1-2 days of ordering, however during busy periods this can be expected to increase. Any significant delays will be notified by email and posted on the website.
Orders made after midday Thursday are usually dispatched on the following Monday.
We use DHL for all our deliveries. To get the most out of the delivery service download the DHL App. Find out more here - DHL APP.
Our last dispatch before Christmas 2022 will be 15th December - all orders placed after this will be sent in the New Year and that is to be from the 9th January onwards.
Instructions to Nursery - At the checkout stage you are able to add an instruction to the nursery such as, 'Please avoid March 20th - 25th' or 'Away in June'.
Instructions to courier - Please give us details of a safe place where the parcel can be left (Please note - this is at the customer's risk). If no instructions to leave the parcel are given and there is no one to sign for it, then our carrier will try to deliver the following day.
Please provide your mobile number or email address and our carrier will tell you the hour your delivery will be made within and if it is not convenient you will be able to re-arrange the delivery directly with them.
UK Delivery Charges
| Area | Post Codes | Number of Plants | | |
| Standard postal area | Any not listed below | 1-4 £7.99 | 5 + £9.99 | N/A |
| Isle of Wight Scilly Isles (2 Day Service) | PO30-41 TR21-25 | 1-8 £12.99 | 9-12 £16.99 | 13+ £20.99 |
| Scottish Highlands & Islands Isle of Man Channel Islands (2 Day Service) | AB 31-38 & 40-56 HS; IV KA 27-28 KW PA 20-38; 41-49 & 60-78 PH 4-44 & 49-50 ZE; IM; GY; JE | 1-4 £12.99 | 5-8 £18.99 | 9+ £24.99 |
Export to Northern Ireland and outside the UK
We no longer offer to export to Northern Ireland or outside the United Kingdom and are sorry for any disappointment this has caused.
Click & Collect
Although we do not open on a regular basis, we are delighted to offer a Click & Collect option for you to collect your orders from our Rails End Nursery location in Worcestershire.
While we get to grips with this new offering we will have to restrict the collection day to a Friday only between 10:00 & 3PM with the hope of expanding that at a later date if we feel it is possible.
Make your online order, checkout and pay online just as if it was a delivery order but of course select Click & Collect instead of a shipping method.
Because we are predominantly a mail order business, our systems are automated and much of the terminology revolves around the kinds of terms used in mail order, so please forgive us for this.
You will receive the following automated emails after making your order.
1. Order acknowledgement. - Full details of your order.
2. Order Status Update - Pending - meaning your order is received into our order processing system
3. Order Status Update - Processing - meaning we are picking and cleaning your plants
4. Order Status Update - Dispatched - in the case of Collection orders, your plants are almost ready for you to pick up.
5. Order Status Update - Completed - your plants are ready for you to pick up on the next Friday.
You can collect from our new location at:
Rails End Nursery
Back Lane
Ashton-Under-Hill
Evesham
Worcestershire
WR11 7RG
At Thorncroft the quality of our clematis plants is very important to us and we will not compromise on keeping up the high standards our customers have come to expect.
We supply plants mostly in a 3 litre container, growing on a 3 foot (1 meter) bamboo cane support, occasionally a 2 litre pot is sufficient to ensure a quality plant is produced. Your clematis can not always be delivered in full flower, however we will aim to send you the most advanced plant for you so that you get the best display possible in the first year of our plants being in your garden.
Chelsea Chop - Also from time to time we will need to prune plants back to keep them tidy on their cane. While every effort is made to only supply plants in full leaf we may on occasions send plants that have been recently pruned or had leaves removed and will include notes to explain why this has been done. It's known as the 'Chelsea Chop' and is commonly seen in late May and June.
Please keep in mind that some of the more specialist clematis have different habits, so these standards can vary depending on the type you are buying but it gives you a good guide on what to expect.
From the very outset, the Thorncroft philosophy is to provide a clematis which will thrive for the customer in their garden but also to provide the expert knowledge that we have gained over the years to help advise you which clematis are the best.
We have been sending plants by mail order to customers all over the world and have build up a good knowledge of which plants perform best in various parts of the globe. We also value your experience and if would like to tell us about which clematis you grow in your country, please do, it will allow us to continue learning
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Awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit