We’re in the middle of hurricane season, so a calming thought or two seems in order.

Still Waters™ Clematis is a cool, relaxing plant that’s perfect for adding some serenity to gardens. The large violet-blue flowers are a delightful contrast with dark-leafed plants like Black Lace® elderberry.

Unlike other clematis varieties you may have grown, it blooms on both old and new wood, so you don’t need to consult a chart before pruning it. Actually, you can get away without pruning it at all (or just cut it back to about 2.5′ in spring.) Either way, it will flower from late spring to late summer.

Hardy to USDA Zone 5, Still Waters™ will grow in full sun or partial shade. You can expect it to get 4-7′ tall on a fence or trellis.

We could use some still waters right now.

We certainly hope our friends who have been in the paths of storms like hurricanes Ian and Fiona stayed safe, and the damage to homes and businesses was minimal.

When Mother Nature throws hurricanes, wildfires, and other extreme weather at us, we gain even more of an appreciation of plants that don’t need special treatment. Really, even if we aren’t dealing with crazy rain and wind, most of us don’t have time to coddle our plants.

For a long time, clematis was in the high-maintenance plant category for many people. To be sure, if clematis is happy, they’re pretty easygoing, but figuring out if you’ve got the right conditions for the plant and then identifying the correct pruning technique for it may be intimidating. Not oh-I-decided-to-die-today-for-no-reason frustrating like a Daphne, but still a little more demanding than spirea.

That’s why we’re happy to have several easy-to-grow varieties like Still Waters™ available.

If you’re in need of some clematis advice for older varieties, here’s a bulletin from Oregon State University Extension.

And if you’re staring down a cultivar with some cryptic warning about pruning groups, here’s an explanation of them from the Royal Horticultural Society.