Winter clematis

Value to bees

Nectar

Moderate

Pollen

Moderate

As a honey crop

Not a honey source

Which bees, and why

Worked by honey bees and by winter-active buff-tailed bumblebees on mild days. The nodding bells shelter the pollen from winter rain, which is part of why the flowers remain usable in poor weather.

Nodding bell flowers that a bee must work upwards into, sheltered from rain by their orientation.

Worth knowing

Modest in volume and valuable specifically for its timing.

Flowering

In flower

November to March (northern hemisphere)

A genuine winter flowering, and one of very few among climbers.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun on a sheltered wall with free-draining soil. It needs warmth and shelter and dislikes cold wet ground.

Size

Climbing to 3-4 m.

Native range

The Mediterranean basin — Spain, the Balearics, Italy, Greece and North Africa.

Suits

Walls and fences, Small gardens, Containers and window boxes

• Needs a warm sheltered wall in cool climates — it is hardy to about -10 °C with shelter and not without.
• Prune only after flowering finishes in spring, and lightly.
• It goes summer-dormant in hot dry conditions, which is normal and not a sign of trouble.

What it looks like

An evergreen climber with finely divided glossy leaves, often bronzing in cold weather, and nodding bell-shaped cream flowers with a faint scent, followed by silky seedheads.