The striking, slightly purply-red blooms have brighter red bars and a luxurious velvety sheen and complimentary deep red stamens.
A superb clematis that is easy to place in the garden.
'Westerplatte' is just one of many superb clematis raised by Brother Stefan Franczak of Poland. Westerplatte arrived in around the early 1990's and is part of a wonderful collection of clematis from this highly regarded clematis breeder.
At Thorncroft Clematis we have stocked 'Westerplatte' from the very earliest opportunity and it has always proven to be a popular plant with the gardener.
It's natural hardiness and easy to grow nature are a part of this popularity for certain, but the long and consistent flowering period June to September (in the UK) is the most attractive attribute I'm sure.
While Westerplatte is not vigorous in height (6-8 feet) it makes a nice bushy plant, meaning it is ideal as a companion plant to peach, yellow or cream roses or other host plants.
Brother Stefan named his new clematis in honour of the heroic stand by the Polish First Armoured Brigade stationed on the peninsular of Westerplatte in Gdansk Bay.
On the 1st September 1939 the garrison was shelled by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, the first battle action of the second world war and despite over-whelming odds the garrison held out for 7 days.
To find out more click HERE.
The flower of 'Westerplatte' opens as the darkest purply-red with a marvellous velvety texture. Once fully open there will be a slightly brighter red bar down the centre of the tepal leading to the deep wine red stamens at the centre of the flower. As the blooms mature and also later in the flowering period, you will sometimes note a slight bluey hue to the edges of the tepals adding another attractive feature to an already beautiful flower.
Grow 'Westerplatte' somewhere that you walk past often or perhaps use her to catch the attention of passers-by in your front garden. You could keep her in a large patio container as a feature plant or on an obelisk or trellis but don't hide her at the back of a garden border.
Care Advice:
Pruning is best carried out in late winter to mid spring each year. At first cut all the stems down to around 2-4 foot high and then leave the plant for about 10-14 days to allow the lower leaf joints to create new buds. Next work your way down from the top of each stem looking for the first nice viable bud and cut away any remaining dead stem just above that bud. Do this on each stem of the plant and you should be left with many stems cut at differing heights across the plant meaning you get flowers all the way up, not just at the top!
Once pruned give a good handful of bonemeal and wriggle that into the soil around the base of the stems taking care not to break any new shoots at the crown of the plant. Lightly water this in.
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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