Seed Exchange - Collecting and Growing Clematis from Seeds

Seed Exchange 2025-26

The 2025-26 Seed Exchange List is now available for Members to select up to 10 packets of seeds that you would like.

Please click on seeds2025-26.pdf for the list. Distribution will start on 1st January 2026, so please get your requests in now. Full instructions are given at the top of the list.

The rest of this page contains general information about growing and identifying viable clematis seeds.

Growing Clematis Seeds

Growing Clematis from seed is an interesting experience; seeds often do not come true to the parent varieties, especially seed of the large-flowered hybrids. Species are most likely to be successful and reasonably true to the parent plant; however, experimentation can provide experts and beginners alike with hours of interest, fun, and the possibility of a new variety!

Identifying Suitable Seeds

The seeds that you donate to the Seed Exchange must be viable – generally seeds in the seed heads are visible, particularly with species. If not, then the seed has probably not set and will most likely not germinate.

On some varieties, you will find that only one or two seeds on a seed head are viable; the rest are not. The photo below of a group of seedheads shows a nonviable seedhead (the fuzzy one at the top) and other seedheads where only one or two seeds have set. Because they still show green, these seeds are not yet ripe enough to pick.

Group of seedheads showing a nonviable seedhead (fuzzy one at the top)
and others where only one or two seeds have set

Seeds should be well ripened and dry; this means that the seeds will be brown. In the photos below you can see on the left the seed head of a large-flowered early hybrid that is not yet ripe, while the seed head of a viticella type in the photo on the right is ripe and ready to be picked. Seeds come away easily when they are ripe.

Seedhead not yet ripe

Seedhead ripe and ready to be picked

Please clean the seeds by removing the feathery seed tails, if present.

Any seeds are welcome, whether from a named species or a named cultivar. A mix of montana plants, for example, is also welcome. We would appreciate it if you can put the dry cleaned seeds in a paper envelope and NOT a plastic bag. Please write on the outside of the envelope the name of the Clematis hybrid or species from which the seeds came, as well as the additional information below.

If the seed is collected from a cultivated plant but that plant came from the wild, please write down the location of the wild plant, if known. If you collected the seeds in the wild, please add the name of the place and country where they were collected and date of collection. If the place is not known, then the nearest road number and village/town would be OK.

Be sure to also add your own name on the paper envelope so the Seed Exchange Administrator knows who sent the seeds.

If you believe that you will be able to donate some seed, please inform Mike Miller, the Seed Administrator, Please click on seeds2025-26.pdf for Mike's details.
 

Seed Exchange is FREE to Members

The Society does not profit from the seed exchange. A number of years ago we decided not to charge an administration fee as we were concerned that the difficulties of paying small amounts of money were stopping members from ordering seeds. The result was successful in that more members requested seeds. Therefore, we do not ask for an administration fee but suggest that when you renew your membership in January you consider adding a small donation to cover administration costs for seeds that you ordered last year.

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All information contained at this site is personal to Ken Woolfenden and
does not represent the official view of the International Clematis Society.
@K.L.Woolfenden