The best clematis plants, compared.
Top pick: MCHIKJHM bulbs, 6, code D Best value: Clematis 'Rooguchi' Rare 10 semi – Highest value part among the rest, at 5, for a named 'Rooguchi' title at about £13.50, with the quantity still unresolved. Updated October 2026.
A clematis is a perennial climber or a shorter herbaceous plant. The useful UK label is the cultivar plus the RHS pruning group, not the word hardy on its own. This amazon.co.uk comparison keeps six listings after seed packets were left out: two unnamed bulb packs, two unnamed rhizome packs, a three-plug montana, and a title that says Clematis '. How the two named habits differ is set out in [Mayleen and Rooguchi](/hub/ornamental-plants/clematis-plants/sub/clematis-plants-mayleen-vs-rooguchi). A montana at 8–12 m is a different job from at about 2 m. A 5.0 from one review, with no stored text, is not a test of the plant. A clematis you can place has a cultivar name that matches in the title and the bullets. Colour letters such as B and D are seller codes, not petal colours. A plug, a rhizome, or the seller’s bulb can be a plant. A 500 or 1,000 count is a seed packet, and seed packets were left out of this comparison.
A clematis is a perennial climber or a shorter herbaceous plant. The useful UK label is the cultivar plus the RHS pruning group, not the word hardy on its own.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What must the listing name?
The MCHIKJHM six-bulb pack, also colour code D, is £7.79 and shows 5.0 from a single review. The stored file has no review text, so there is no sentence about growth, mould, or flowers to weigh. That lone five is the highest star line here and it is not a trial of the plant. The title still omits the cultivar, the pruning group, and any H rating, and a bullet claims a high germination rate without a number. You pay £3 more than the four-bulb pack for two extra unnamed roots and a star nobody explained. Shade tolerance is a seller bullet, not a site you can plan from.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Comparing pack size with the four-bulb line when you do not need a named plant.
Less suitable: Sorting this set by stars, or covering a fence with a known group 1 climber.
Specifications
Common questions
How many bulbs are in this listing?
The title says 6 bulbs, colour code D, at £7.79. No cultivar name is printed. That is two more roots than the four-bulb pack at £4.79.
Is a germination rate given?
The bullet says a high germination rate and does not give a number. No germination figure is printed for this comparison.
What do the reviews say?
The listing is 5.0 from 1 review. The stored file has no review text, so there is no sentence about growth, mould, or flowers. The star part of the score is capped because the count is under three.
Growtanical offers three plug plants at £16.99, rated 3.9 out of 5 from 17 reviews. The title says Clematis montana pink 'Mayleen' and a bullet says Clematis montana Rubens, so the page does not settle which cultivar is in the plugs. It is the only listing here that prints a pruning group, and that group is 1, along with pink flowers, full sun or partial shade, a May to June season, an H4 claim, a 10 m height-and-spread line, and an APHA registered plant passport. The RHS 'Mayleen' page is 8–12 m tall with a spread of 1.5–2.5 m, H5, and group 1, so the listing’s combined height-and-spread figure of 10 m and its H4 do not match that profile. Several reviews describe healthy, well-packed plants that were potted on and branched, while one says each plant was about the size of two clothes pegs and needed about six weeks of potting on. The offer is a set of three, not a single mature climber, and a montana is tidied after flowering rather than cut hard in February.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A fence or outbuilding where you can add wires and pot the plugs on, once the name in the box is clear.
Less suitable: A small border, a single mature climber this month, or a hard cut in February.
Specifications
Common questions
Which cultivar does the listing name?
The title says Clematis Montana Pink 'Mayleen', three large plug plants, at £16.99. A bullet says Clematis Montana Rubens. The file does not resolve which name is in the plugs.
What pruning group and hardiness does the seller print?
The listing says pruning group 1, hardy to H4, flowering May/June, and height and spread 10 m. It also claims an APHA registered plant passport. The RHS Mayleen page is H5 and 8–12 m tall, with a spread of 1.5–2.5 m.
What do the reviews say about size?
The listing is 3.9 from 17. Several texts praise healthy, well-packed plants. One says each plant was about the size of two clothes pegs and needed about six weeks of potting on.
The title reads Clematis 'Rooguchi' Rare 10 semi and the price is £13.50. If the plant in the parcel is that cultivar, the RHS profile is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial about 1.5–2.5 m tall, with purple bell flowers and pruning group 3, which will not cover a house wall. The amazon.co.uk page does not print height, flower colour, sun, or the group, and the quantity disagrees with itself: number of pieces 10, number of items 1, and one bullet that says 1 pc. Three reviews average 3.4. One describes an on-time arrival, a strong plant, and bell-shaped flowers, with more expected next year. Another says the buyer wanted a small plant and that seeds had not sprouted by 5 September 2026. Do not order this as ten plants.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A border around 2 m if you confirm the parcel is the herbaceous plant rather than a seed count.
Less suitable: Covering a house wall, or anyone who needs a stated quantity before they pay.
Specifications
Common questions
What cultivar does the title name?
The title says Clematis 'Rooguchi' Rare 10 semi, at £13.50. The listing does not state a pruning group, height, sun, or flower colour. The RHS page for that name is a herbaceous plant of 1.5–2.5 m in group 3.
How many are in the box?
Number of pieces is 10 and number of items is 1. One bullet says 1 pc. The file does not settle the count, so do not order this as ten plants.
What do the reviews say?
The listing is 3.4 from 3. One text describes a strong plant and bell-shaped flowers. Another says seeds had not sprouted by 5 September 2026.
NYUYDRX sells three unnamed clematis rhizomes, colour code D, at £8.99. The listing is 2.1 out of 5 from 25 reviews, the largest file in this set. The texts repeat mouldy or dead roots, no growth, and one bag of straw that was refunded, while a few say a poor arrival started growing later, including one plant later described as thriving. Later growth in those texts does not erase the mould pattern. The bullets mention walls and fences, watering every three to five days in the growing season, flowering for up to five months, and planting in March to April or September to October, yet they name no cultivar, pruning group, sun position, H rating, or passport. A walls-and-fences line on the page is not evidence this root will cover one.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Reading an arrival record before you buy an unnamed root, and rejecting the parcel if it is mould.
Less suitable: Fence cover you need to plan by pruning group or flower colour.
Specifications
Common questions
What arrives in the parcel?
The title says 3 rhizomes, colour code D, at £8.99. No cultivar name is printed. Colour D is a seller code, not a flower colour.
Does the listing state sun or a pruning group?
No. The listing does not state sun, a pruning group, an H rating, or a plant passport. The bullets say walls and fences, and watering every 3–5 days in the growing season.
What do the reviews repeat?
The listing is 2.1 from 25. Review texts repeat mouldy or dead roots, no growth, and one bag of straw. A few say growth started later.
The MCHIKJHM listing is four unnamed clematis sold as bulbs, colour code D, at £4.79. Six amazon.co.uk reviews leave it at 1.0 out of 5, and the stored texts say the roots were mouldy, nothing grew, and the bulbs were thrown away. Colour D is a seller code, not a flower colour, and the page names no cultivar, pruning group, hardiness H rating, or plant passport. The price is the lowest in this comparison, which only matters if you already treat a failed parcel as likely. A mouldy root in the bag is a satisfactory-quality problem under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, not clematis wilt, because wilt affects a plant that has grown. You cannot choose a February cut or a post-flower tidy for this pack, because the group is not printed.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A lowest-price trial only if you will treat a dead root as a refund, not as a fence plant.
Less suitable: Anyone who needs a named climber, a pruning group, or a plant that reviewers say grew.
Specifications
Common questions
How many bulbs are in this listing?
The title says 4 bulbs, colour code D, at £4.79. No cultivar name is printed. Colour D is a listing code, not a flower colour.
Does the listing state a pruning group?
No. The listing does not state a pruning group, an H rating, or a plant passport. The seller bullet says shade-tolerant and perennial, without an RHS H number.
What do the reviews say?
The listing is 1.0 from 6. The review texts say nothing grew, the roots were mouldy, and the bulbs were thrown away.
The other NYUYDRX pack is three unnamed rhizomes, colour code B, at £10.59. It shows 1.0 from one review, and the stored file has no review text at all. It costs £1.60 more than the colour D rhizomes, which at least have 25 reviews, and it still names no cultivar. The care bullets match the cheaper pack: a hardy perennial with no H rating, water every three to five days in the growing season, flowering up to five months, and the same spring or autumn planting window. Sun, pruning group, and a plant passport are absent, and colour B is a code rather than a petal colour. With one silent star you cannot tell whether this line fails like the colour D texts or fails for another reason.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A colour-code variant only if you have already chosen this seller and accept a blank review.
Less suitable: Choosing by stars, by a named habit, or by a printed pruning group.
Specifications
Common questions
How does this differ from the other NYUYDRX pack?
This listing is 3 rhizomes, colour code B, at £10.59. The colour D pack in this set is £8.99 and has 25 reviews. Neither names a cultivar. Colour B is a listing code, not a flower colour.
Does the listing state a pruning group?
No. The listing does not state a pruning group, sun, an H rating, or a plant passport. Hardy on the title is not an RHS H number.
What do the reviews say?
The listing is 1.0 from 1 review. The stored file has no review text, so there is no sentence about growth, mould, or flowers.
Six amazon.co.uk clematis listings were scored from the stored files on 20 October 2026. There was no garden trial and no RHS trial of these parcels. The score runs from 0 to 100 in four parts: stars up to 40, sample size up to 25, a named plant you can place up to 25, and value in this set up to 10. Those four maxima are the weights below, and they sum to 100. A review count under three caps the star part at 8, so a single 5.0 is not a sample. The highest total is the top pick, once. The highest value part that is not the top pick is best value, once. The 5.0 on the six-bulb pack is capped and is not an award.
Stars
40%Up to 40 points from the amazon.co.uk rating divided by five, then multiplied by 40 and rounded. If the review count is under three, this part is capped at 8. A lone 5.0 does not outrank a larger file with written reviews.
Sample
25%Up to 25 points from the review count. 20–49 reviews score 16, 10–19 score 12, 6–9 score 6, 3–5 score 5, and 1–2 score 2. A listing with no reviews scores 0. Nothing in this file has 50 reviews.
Named plant you can place
25%Up to 25 points when the listing prints a cultivar you can site. Three plugs that state a group, sun, colour, and a passport claim score 18 even with a cultivar clash. A 'Rooguchi' title that omits the group scores 13. Unnamed rhizomes and bulbs sit at 6, 4, or 3.
Value in this set
10%Up to 10 points for price against what the listing actually tells you. The £16.99 plugs score 6 and stay the dearest row. The £13.50 named title scores 5. A low price with failure texts does not take this part.
Start with a cultivar name that matches in the title and the bullets, then the form, then the pruning group and the size you can use. Stars come after review texts you can read. The notes below follow that order.
A clematis you can place has a cultivar name that matches in the title and the bullets. Colour letters such as B and D are seller codes, not petal colours. Form is the next check. A plug, a rhizome, or the seller’s bulb can be a plant. A 500 or 1,000 count is a seed packet, and seed packets were left out of this comparison. Six listings remain: two unnamed bulb packs, two unnamed rhizome packs, a three-plug montana, and a 'Rooguchi' title.
B and D on the unnamed packs are listing codes. They are not petal colours, and they do not name a cultivar or a pruning group.
Group 1 is tidied after flowering. A February cut to 15–30 cm is the group 3 job. The plug listing prints group 1. The unnamed packs print no group.
The six-bulb pack is 5.0 from one review and the stored file has no text. The colour D rhizomes are 2.1 from 25, with repeated mouldy or dead roots. The star part is capped when the count is under three.
Match the cultivar in the title and the bullets before you trust a colour letter. A plug, a rhizome, or the seller’s bulb is the form in this set. A seed count is a different product and was left out. Group 1 is a tidy after flowering. Group 3 is a hard February cut. Only the Growtanical plugs print a group, and that group is 1, beside a Mayleen title and a Rubens bullet.
RHS Mayleen is 8–12 m, H5 and group 1. RHS Rooguchi is 1.5–2.5 m, group 3 and herbaceous. The plug listing’s 10 m height-and-spread line and its H4 do not match the Mayleen page. Shelf prices here run from £4.79 to £16.99. Read the 25-review mould pattern and the six texts that say nothing grew before you treat a one-review 5.0 as a result. Only the plugs claim an APHA plant passport.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a named climber and you can add wires. In this set that is the Growtanical plug trio at about £16.99, the only row that prints pruning group 1. The title says 'Mayleen' and a bullet says Rubens, and the plugs are young, so pot them on before you expect a fence to disappear.
You want bell flowers on a herbaceous plant around 2 m, which is the RHS profile for 'Rooguchi', and you will confirm the parcel is that plant. The listing is about £13.50. It does not print the group, and the count disagrees with itself. It will not cover a house wall.
You will treat a dead root as a refund. The four-bulb pack is about £4.79, the lowest price here, colour code D, with no cultivar. Six reviews sit at 1.0, and the stored texts say nothing grew and the roots were mouldy. That is a goods problem, not a fence plan.
The top pick is the Growtanical three-plug set at about £16.99. It scores 67, and it is the only listing that prints a pruning group, sun, a flower colour, and a passport claim. The title says 'Mayleen' and a bullet says Rubens, so read the label in the box. Best value is Clematis 'Rooguchi' Rare 10 semi at about £13.50, with the highest value part among the rest. The count on that page disagrees with itself, and the RHS habit for that name is a herbaceous plant around 2 m. The 5.0 on the six-bulb pack is one review with no stored text, and it is not an award.
Clematis 'Rooguchi' Rare 10 semi
Highest value part among the rest, at 5, for a named 'Rooguchi' title at about £13.50, with the quantity still unresolved.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the stored amazon.co.uk figures. The price band is this set, not a market average. The score is not a lab trial.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Lee Burkhill (Garden Ninja) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the stored amazon.co.uk figures, not a live crawl. We did not grow these plants or run a garden trial.
