A new and distinct cultivar of Clematis plant named ‘Stolwijk Gold’, characterized by its upright and vining plant habit; uniquely yellow green-colored foliage; freely flowering habit; and violet blue-colored flowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofClematis,botanically known asClematis alpinaand hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Stolwijk Gold’.

The newClematisis a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of an unnamed selection ofClematis alpina,not patented. The newClematiswas discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant in a population of plants of the parent selection in a controlled environment in Boskoop, The Netherlands in May, 2001. The newClematiswas selected based on its unique yellowgreen-colored leaves.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by cuttings in Boskoop, The Netherlands, since May, 2001, has shown that the unique features of this newClematisare stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar Stolwijk Gold have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Stolwijk Gold’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Stolwijk Gold’ as a new and distinct cultivar:1. Upright and vining plant habit.2. Uniquely yellow green-colored foliage.3. Freely flowering habit.4. Violet blue-colored flowers.

Plants of the newClematisdiffer primarily from plants of the parent selection in leaf color as plants of the parent selection have solid green-colored leaves.

Plants of the newClematiscan be compared to plants of theClematiscultivar Multi Blue, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Boskoop, The Netherlands, plants of the newClematisdiffered primarily from plants of the cultivar Multi Blue in leaf color as plants of the cultivar Multi Blue had solid green-colored leaves.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION