Clematis Journal 2019 by TGDH

The Clematis 2011

Wollerton Old Hall Garden Created 20 years ago around a Tudor house (not open), this quality garden has achieved the highest “Good Garden Guide” rating and RHS Partnership status. Designed by the owner, Lesley Jenkins, this outstanding garden combines a strong structure with clever planting combinations using perennials. The garden has significant collections of rare perennials, salvias, paniculata phlox and clematis and some of these are available in the Plant Centre. The Tea Room provides excellent lunches and teas with all the food being prepared freshly on the premises. Image © Jenny Lilly

OPENING TIMES 2020

From Good Friday, every Friday, Sunday and Bank Holiday until the end of August; every Friday in September and also every Thursday in June, July and August, from 12 noon to 5pm.

Wollerton, Market Drayton TF9 3NA Tel: 01630 685760 www.wollertonoldhallgarden.com

The Clematis 2019

The Journal of the British Clematis Society Editor: Brian Collingwood

http://www.britishclematis.org.uk RHS Affiliation No. 10586944

Registered Charity No. 1049107

Opinions expressed by Authors, or products advertised are not specifically endorsed by the Society or its Editor

The Clematis 2019

Contents Section 1: Your Society From Your Editor………………………………………..Brian Collingwood Who Does What in the BCS 2019/20….....….……………...…….Committee From Your Chair.…...……………………………………….Lizzie Gibbison Financial Summary………………………………………....Peter Hargreaves Minutes of the 29th AGM.………….………………….…….........Committee Section 2: Garden and Culture

Page 1 4 6 7 8

‘

Ramblings from Reigate or Have Yours Done Well?....................Everett Leeds

Clematis Highlights 2018-19………………………………..Dr John Feltwell

New Garden, Fresh Challenges……………………………..Charne Griffiths

A History of Grafton Cottage………………..Peter and Margaret Hargreaves

Thoughts of A Botanical Artist……………………………….….Jean Harley

Gardening is Now a Spectator Sport..…………………….Marie-France Holt

The Haphazard Gardener………………………………………….Katy Rice

Weird Weather…………………………………………………..Glenis Dyer

Battling an Obsession……………………………………….Charlie Pridham

A Thousand Invisible Cords……………………………………Fran Palmeri

Section 3: BCS Activities The Midlands BCS Group: Activities 2019……………….....Charne Griffiths

Section 4: Cultivars, Species, Groups What’s ‘New’?........................................................................................Marcel Floyd

Clematis SUMMER SNOW (‘Paul Farges’/‘Fargesioides’)……....Werner Stastny

The Clematis 2019

Contents, continued Section 4: Cultivars, Species, Groups………………………...continued

Page

Escargots, Anyone………………………………………Charlotte Wemyss

Seeking Clematis flammula in Croatia………………………...Werner Stastny

Clematis rehderiana………………………………………Penelope S. Hellyer

My Pride and Joy – Clematis uncinata……………………Denise MacDonald

Making sense of Clematis pitcheri……………………………..Gary W. Vann

Demographics of Texensis Types…………………………...Gary W. Vann

BCS/US Viorna Group Research Project – Report 1: In pursuit of Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima and C. pitcheri……INTRO…….…Brian Collingwood

101

Exploring the Southwestern United States in Search of the Leather Flowers (Clematis subgenus Viorna): Expedition Accounts and Taxonomic Perspectives………….Thomas H. Murphy, Zach Irick, & L. Dwayne Estes

103

National Collections……………………………………....Richard Hodson

114

Section 5: Propagation & Breeding Raising New Clematis Cultivars – My Experiences...…….Susan MacMahon

118

Growing Clematis from Seed………………………….....Brian Collingwood

128

Montana Seedlings at By The Way…………....Valerie Le May Neville-Parry

132

Section 6: International Clematis Registrar; IClS; BCS Constitution New Clematis Registrations July 2018-June 2019...........................Sarah Holme

146

The International Clematis Society – 2019 Report………..Ken Woolfenden

152

Changes to the BCS Constitution……………………………..Julian Noble

153

Notes Pages, Advertisements, Acknowledgements ……...…………..Editor

162

The Clematis 2019

SECTION 1 – YOUR SOCIETY From Your Editor, Brian Collingwood

elcome to my 13th (and final) edition of The Clematis. As usual, I would like to thank everyone, home and abroad, who has contributed to this year’s edition. Every input is greatly appreciated, and huge thanks go to all my authors. We have once again a broad spread of interesting subject matter touching upon many facets of the world of Clematis. Many of the best contributions are penned by everyday gardeners or unsung BCS members – no formal expertise is required for writing an article. If you have something you’d like to say about clematis, please let us know and we will gladly include as much as possible in these pages. So, to all who read this 2019 edition, whether your particular appreciation is in the culture, breeding, propagation, history or even the more technical aspects of Clematis, I hope you will find something of interest and enjoyment in this issue. You will recall that last year we announced the BCS sponsorship of important research into the Viorna Group in the USA, under the auspices of the eminent US botanist Dr Dwayne Estes and two of his research students, Zach Irick and Thomas Murphy. I am delighted to say that we now have our first full account of the fieldwork undertaken during this particular expedition. The trip comprised nine days of searching out populations of plants in various locations in the southwestern US to investigate the taxonomy of Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima, and C. pitcheri. Although we know some of these species reasonably well there is nevertheless still much light to be shed in order to truly understand them. Going forward, additional research programmes will be needed to gradually achieve the goal of elucidating the full taxonomic nature and evolutionary derivation of this remarkably exciting species complex. We look forward with great anticipation to developments in this work. It may well result in the naming of several new Viorna Group species and we are thrilled that BCS is actively involved and at the forefront. This exclusive report is included in this year’s Journal on pages 101-113. As you know, I retired as Editor last year after producing twelve editions from 20072018; however, since the position is still unfilled I am pleased to make it a ‘baker’s dozen’. I am very grateful for the loyalty of all my authors in remaining available to me. I hope you enjoy reading this year’s edition of The Clematis as much as I have enjoyed compiling it. It only remains for me to wish all readers and their loved ones health, happiness and the very best of good fortune for the remainder of 2019, and beyond. Brian Collingwood

Articles for The Clematis 2020: please send to Lizzie Gibbison, by post or email: clematis@talk21.com. Hand-written submissions are most welcome. 600 words are suitable for a shorter article. If submitting technical articles, please include explanation that will aid the lay reader.

COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP OF THE CONTENT OF THIS PUBLICATION RESIDES WITH THE RESPECTIVE AUTHOR OR AUTHORS. THE REPRODUCTION OF ANY PART IS FORBIDDEN WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. PLEASE CONTACT THE EDITOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

The Clematis 2019

Join Us The British Clematis Society Journal, Newsletters, Advisory Service, Seed Exchange, Lectures, Slide Shows, Pruning Demonstrations, Display Gardens, Lists of Clematis Nurseries and Open Gardens, Plant Sales, Tours

Membership runs from January 1st to December 31st Single Membership

Family Membership

Personal Membership 2 persons at same address UK £25.00 UK £30.00 Europe £30.00 Europe £35.00 Rest of World £35.00 Rest of World £40.00 Junior (under 16) £10.00 Life Member Single (UK only) £300.00 Joint Life Membership (UK only) £350.00 Student (under 25) Membership £15.00

Application to join should be made to The Membership Secretary, Ken Black, Adswood, Townfield Lane, Mollington, Cheshire CH1 6LB Tel: 01244 851327 email: keneblack4@gmail.com. Cheques payable to ‘The British Clematis Society’ Overseas payments by Eurocheque, Bank Draft, International Money Order (in Sterling), Internet (PayPal)

Postal Membership Application on next page Please photocopy the page and send by post. 2

The Clematis 2019 MEMBERS AND ROLES

The Clematis 2019

Who Does What in the BCS 2019-20 ELECTED OFFICERS COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ROLES Chair: Lizzie Gibbison, Saffron Gate, Tickners Heath, Alfold, Surrey GU6 8HU Tel: 01483 200219 email: clematis@talk21.com Hon. Treasurer: Peter Hargreaves, Grafton Cottage. Barr Lane, Barton-underNeedwood, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE13 8AL Tel: 01283 713639 email: peter.hargreaves@smithcooper.co.uk Contact for all society finance, with some assistance from Bookkeeper (Alison Booth). Hon. Secretary: Julian Noble, 29 Froxfield Gardens, Portchester, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8DN Tel: 02392 376072 or 07552 922472 email: julian.noble@btinternet.com Focus for BCS correspondence. Arranges AGM and committee meetings. Takes and circulates minutes. Membership Secretary: Ken Black, Adswood, Townfield Lane, Mollington, Cheshire CH1 6LB Tel: 01244 851327 email: keneblack4@gmail.com Deals with new members and renewals. Maintains membership records. Email coordinator for dispatch of newsletter by email and all other communication to members on society matters (shared with Glenn Rowbottom). National Events: Annette Stevens (jointly with Lizzie Gibbison), 8 Farm Walk, Ash Green, Guildford, Surrey GU12 6HX Tel: 01252 319305 email: annettestevens2012@btinternet.com Deals with all aspects of organising and siting National Meetings. Newsletter Editor: Glenn Rowbottom, 549 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S40 3JS Tel: 01246 566046 email: plantsman54@gmail.com Compiles and edits the regular BCS Newsletters. Other members of the National Committee: Alison Booth. 4

The Clematis 2019 REGIONAL GROUPS Northern Group. Leader – post vacant. To chat about this position please contact: Sue Reade, 123 Andover Avenue, Middleton, Manchester M24 1JQ Tel: 0161 643 2985 email: sue.reade@uwclub.net OR readesue@gmail.co Midland Group. Leader - Josie Hulbert Trentham, 56 Haden Park Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands B64 7HE. Tel: 07939 664185 email: Jjhulbert1@aol.com Wessex Group. Leader – Margaret Morris, 2c St Andrew’s Way, Freshwater, Isle of Wight PO40 9NH Tel: 01983 759549 or 07703 120978 email via Hon Sec: julian.noble@btinternet.com OTHER SUPPORT ROLES Journal Editor: Brian Collingwood, 11 Mirfield Drive, Monton, Eccles, Manchester M30 9LH Tel: 0161 950 5329 email: bcollingwood@ntlworld.com BCS Website and Internet Help Desk enquiries: Steve Christmas, 6 Hawthorne Close, Grateley, Hampshire SP11 8Jl Tel: 01264 889735 email: stevechristmas1@gmail.com Sunbury Walled Garden: Denise MacDonald, 2 Ravensbourne Avenue, Bromley, Kent BR2 0BP Tel: 0208 4601820 email: amacdo0530@ntlworld.com Seed exchange: Paul Dunstan, 47A Plantation Road, Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP6 6HW Tel: 01494 724297 email: paul.dunstan@talktalk.net Speakers’ Panel: Everett Leeds, Flat 1, 4 Hardwicke Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 9AG Tel: 01737 247399 email: everettleeds@gmail.com Slide Librarian: Ken Woolfenden, 3 Cuthberts Close, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire EN7 5RB Tel: 01992 636524 email: ken@woolfenden.org

The Clematis 2019

From Your Chair 2019 Lizzie Gibbison UK clematis@talk21.com

e have once again reached that time in the year when we publish The Clematis, our annual Journal. I find it hard to believe just how quickly another BCS year has flown by! It has been a busy year for the Society with much to report on. We opened the BCS year at Hartpury College on April 6 th with our Annual General Meeting. The meeting was reasonably well attended and all the customary BCS business matters were dealt with satisfactorily. Between the usual BCS slots the audience was treated to an interesting video of clematis growing in China, followed in the afternoon by our main speaker for the day, Chris Chadwell, the well-known plant hunter and seed collector. Both sessions were enthusiastically received. The AGM day closed with teas and coffee and everyone seemed to enjoy it and thought that it had gone very well. We had no late spring garden visit this year because planning for the year’s major shows took precedence – as a result we were able to put maximum efforts into attending Malvern (RHS Malvern Show from 9th-12th May), Harlow Carr (RHS Harlow Carr Garden 6th-7th July) and Tatton Park (RHS Tatton Park Show 17th-21st July). All three events went off well and winning two silver medals was a big bonus! I should like to thank everyone who took part in organising the events, manning the stands and generally getting everything together, with such positive outcomes for the BCS. While we are on the topic of shows, please note that we are always looking for volunteers to help with the arrangements. It doesn’t matter whether you can add a little or a lot, any assistance is greatly appreciated and your efforts always help BCS to attract new members into our Society. Details of the 2020 shows will be published in the Newsletter and on the BCS website at www.britishclematis.org, in due course. We were hoping for a good turnout for the August indoor meeting but, sadly, the response rate was once again too low to make it viable and it therefore had to be cancelled – very disheartening. Despite the decrease in our membership numbers BCS would still very much like to put on two main meetings each year, being the AGM and the Autumn meeting. We would urge you to support the Society by attending these meetings if you possibly can. They are always enjoyable and educational in regard of the genus Clematis, with excellent speakers to boot. Later in the year we did try to get a group together for a meeting in Oxford but the gods were indisposed toward this also, providing extremely dangerous windy driving conditions which was enough to make travel almost impossible – and hence the meeting unfortunately did not come off. As most of you know, I will be standing down as Chair at the next AGM so please think about joining the BCS Committee. We will be short of Committee numbers but a Committee is absolutely essential. Please come and join us and help in any way you can. I wish to thank everyone who has assisted me during my time as BCS Chair. I will always continue to be part of the BCS, though no longer on the front line. 6

The Clematis 2019

TREASURER’S ANNUAL REPORT: RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

he society’s funds were reduced from £38,058 to £30,726. Volunteers continue to undertake the majority of day-to-day administration of Society affairs, which would be expensive to provide if the BCS had to pay for the external provision of these services. .

Receipts Subscriptions Donations Gift Aid tax relief Events, seed etc

6,801 48 2,091 1,921 10,861

Payments Journal Newsletters AGM Trustee expenses Publicity, web costs etc

5,272 1,443 1,496 734 1,405 10,350

Excess of receipts over payments Funds – 31 December 2018 Funds – 31 December 2017

511 30,726 38,058

As noted in Journal 2018, BCS granted the USA Viorna research project £7,843. The finances of BCS still remain strong and the committee continues to monitor costs. BCS is faced with challenging changes and increased reporting requirements in our affairs, in line with our status as a charity and the Society maintains specific reserves for such purposes. These summarised accounts do not contain sufficient information to allow for a full understanding of the financial affairs of the Society. The accounts have been reviewed by the independent examiners and copies of the Trustees’ Annual Report, Independent Examiner's report and Full Accounts can be obtained from: Peter Hargreaves, Grafton Cottage, Bar Lane, Barton Under Needwood, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 8AL marpeter1@btinternet.com Honorary Treasurer Peter Hargreaves

The Clematis 2019

British Clematis Society 29th Annual General Meeting Held at 10:45am on Saturday 6th April 2019 at Hartpury University and College, Gloucester. Present: Liz Gibbison in the Chair and 60 members of the Society.

Minutes of the Meeting 1.

Liz Gibbison welcomed everyone to the 29th AGM of the British Clematis Society

Apologies for absence: The Hon Secretary reported that apologies had been received from 15 members including 3 proxy votes.

Minutes of the meeting held 21st April 2018: These were approved as a correct record of the meeting (proposed: Annette Stevens; seconded: Everett Leeds and passed nem con). The minutes were then signed by the Chair.

Matters arising from the minutes: there were no matters arising from the minutes

Roundup of the year Our AGM in April 2018 was attended by 66 members. A successful autumn meeting was held in Cambridge with 2 excellent speakers. The autumn garden visit was cancelled due to a clash of dates. A national indoor meeting is scheduled for August in Kidlington, Oxon. Our Midlands Group held 2 indoor meetings and several garden visits. The Wessex Group indoor meeting in February 2019 was cancelled due to low numbers booking. We did not attend any major shows in 2018. Looking ahead: New leaflets have been produced for use at shows and other events. We are having stands at the RHS Shows at Malvern in May 2019 and Tatton in July 2019 plus a weekend about clematis at RHS Harlow Carr in early July. Our membership continues to reduce. The death of Alex MacDonald was noted.

Financial report: Peter Hargreaves, Hon Treasurer, presented his report and the annual accounts. During the year to the end of December 2018 the BCS showed a small surplus of income of £511; this was due to our claim for Gift Aid covering more than one financial year being received in 2018. In addition, a grant of £7,843 8

The Clematis 2019 has been made from our Research and Bursary fund to a project into the Clematis viorna group based in the US; the research team is led by Dwayne Estes. In the current financial year, we anticipate our subscription income will cover the cost of the Journal and newsletters. In 2020 we will need to make a charge for the refreshments provided at events such as our AGM. The financial report and accounts were formally accepted by the meeting (proposed by Liz Welch, seconded by Everett Leeds) and signed off by the Chair (full copy attached in the minute book). 7.

Membership reports: Ken Black, Membership Secretary, presented a written report (full copy attached in the minute book). Currently there are 258 paid up members plus 61 members whose annual subscription is outstanding despite reminders. We gained 9 new members during the year. Ken was thanked for his work during the year.

Changes to the BCS Constitution: A number of changes to the Constitution were proposed; the main change concerns the number of officers and members of the Executive Committee. The changes reduce the number of both; this reflects the significantly smaller membership in the Society since it was formed. Recently it has proved difficult to fill the constitutional requirements, hence the reduction. The following resolution was put to the meeting:

This meeting agrees to reduce the number of officers of the BCS by removing the post of Vice Chair, to reduce the number of Executive Committee members to no less than 6 and not more than 10, to give the discretion to the AGM to allow a member to be re-elected to serve longer than the usual maximum term (6 years) and to change the nomination period for Officers and Executive Committee members to 28 days . [note: a full document showing all the changes to the wording of the constitution was available for all members at the meeting and to others if requested]. Due notice of the proposed changes was given to all members in the February 2019 Newsletter. The resolution was agreed nem con. The changes will be notified to the Charity Commission. 9.

Election of Honorary Officers and Trustees: 9

The Clematis 2019 The following were elected by a show of hands: Chair of the Society: Lizzie Gibbison. Proposed: Julian Noble; seconded: Alison Smith. Honorary Secretary: Julian Noble. Proposed: Annette Stevens; seconded: Fiona Woolfenden Honorary Treasurer: Peter Hargreaves. Proposed: Val Le May Neville Parry; seconded: Valerie Nicolls Membership Secretary: Ken Black. Proposed: Pam Davis; seconded: Annette Ward Committee members: The following members of the committee were elected in 2017 for a 3-year term so remain in post: Annette Stevens; Alison Booth and Glenn Rowbottom. Sue Reade has stepped down from the committee after serving for many years; the meeting formally thanked her for her work for the Society. No other nominations to serve on the committee had been received. 10. Appointment of Independent Examiner: Peter Hargreaves proposed the continuing appointment of Smith Cooper as our Independent Examiner. This was approved by the meeting. 11. Any other business: Seed exchange: due to much less seed being sent in it was suggested we might explore sharing the exchange with the International Clematis Society. Paul Dunstan plans to continue with our seed exchange for 2019 (distribution in early 2020). Support for show stands: for both Malvern and Tatton additional helpers are welcome. Journal: no one has come forward to fill the post of Editor. The newsletter will be increased in size to make up for the likely loss of our Journal for 2019/20. A gift of a Hydropod will be made to Brian Collingwood to express our appreciation of his work as Editor of the Journal over many years. Research project: detailed reports from the project are being received and will be published in the Newsletter or Journal. BCS website: the home page will be updated. 12. Closing remarks: Lizzie Gibbison spoke about the formation of the BCS with over 1,000 members with a full programme of talks, shows and visits. Over the years our members have got older and are less able to attend meetings and other events. We have had a net loss of members year on year for several years. 10

The Clematis 2019 The way we contact people has changed with the internet and email as this is how people access information. The BCS faces a serious challenge – how do we survive into the future? Members are not coming forward to serve on the Executive or as Officers and we are losing about 60 members each year. She reminded the meeting that she will be standing down at Chair at our AGM in April 2020. 13. Close of meeting: The Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 12:20.

14. Following an informal buffet lunch the day continued with a talk about clematis and other plants in the Himalaya, given by well-known plant hunter Chris Chadwell. END OF AGM REPORT

The Clematis 2019

Ramblings from Reigate or Have Yours Done Well? Everett Leeds UK everettleeds@gmail.com

ne of the unquantifiable and mysterious things about gardening is how plants are going to perform every year. How often do we see a marked difference in plants from one year to another and hear doyens of the genus commenting ‘it’s been a good year for clematis ‘X’ or ‘Y’. I suppose ‘why’ is the key word but it is very difficult to pin down the real cause of a plant’s performance unless one keeps exhaustive records of weather, soil makeup, chemical condition, moisture and, if humans are involved, food delivered. For most of us there is not enough time in the day to do this type of monitoring. We just want to enjoy the plants, don’t we? I have a C. ‘Prince George’ in a container 50cm x 60 deep and this year the flowers are much smaller despite me watering with a weak solution of plant food every five days or so. A similar plant in the ground in my daughter’s garden has much larger flowers and to my knowledge has not even been fed. I must admit that I always advocate planting in the ground over containers simply because the ground has more of an equable moisture and temperature. Too much T.L.C. is involved. Plants in containers are generally dying of thirst one day and being drowned the next or much later when one gets the opportunity (or remembers)! QUEEN MOTHER (C. ‘Zoqum’) is a great doer in our plot being grown in the ground. Vigorous to 3m (10 ft) with beautifully shaped flowers. A hybrid by Willem Stravers of 12

The Clematis 2019

Germany, it looks as though it’s a hybrid with North American parentage, although it is mildew free for us. To blow my own trumpet, I have a containerised plant of C. ‘Everett’ that has numerous stems coming out of the soil with loads of foliage and a few flowers. Have I overfed it, I wonder? My memories of the original plant in Glenis Dyer’s garden are faded now but I’m sure her flowers were larger than mine have ever been. Perhaps it should be in the ground? Mike Brown’s plant is in the ground, a super specimen. (Mind you most of his plants are!) To bring these ramblings to a close, I was lucky enough to obtain a few seeds from a source I know to be reliable (that’s police terminology) of species C. acerifolia and one has actually germinated. It took ages to germinate and is actually growing ever so slowly too. It is quite difficult to simulate its natural growing conditions where in China it grows out of rock fissures but general consensus of opinion is that it likes alkaline conditions. Ton Hannink of The Netherlands advocates putting Bicarbonate of Soda in the water when watering sparingly and it does seem to be working for my tiddler. Watch this space! 13

The Clematis 2019

© Photographer ‘F. Faideau’ from Histoire Naturelle Illustrée, Les Plantes. By J. Costantin and F. Faideau, published by © Librairie Larousse, Paris. 1922. The accompanying caption is ‘Une pépiniére de Clématites à grandes fleurs’. (‘A largeflowered clematis nursery’.) All images © John Feltwell (See Bibliography note regarding above image at end of article.)

Clematis Highlights 2018-19 Dr John Feltwell john@wildlifematters.com

t seems that clematis have turned up all over the place during my travels in the last year or so. Poring over a flea market book I came across in France, I noticed the above print of a Clematis nursery, reminding me of the one at Great Dixter in layout. It is in an urban area, but where in France? The photograph is in a section of the book about nurseries around Paris that supply flowers, and they mention ‘Vincennes, Versailles, Mortefontaine, Saint-Cloud, etc’ but where, exactly? Answers on an email! Moving observations to Helsinki (Finland) in late September 2018 I was not only impressed by the riotous colours of garden plants this late in the year in the city – as hot and colourful as if in the Mediterranean (for snow is the usual norm from Clematis display in the Helsinki Botanic Garden, late September 2018

The Clematis 2019 October to March – and summers are hot, sunny and long) but there were plenty of clematis in the Botanic Garden, especially a colour block of whites growing together on trellis, that defied precise identification. The various taxa included Clematis ‘White Columbine’ (syn. C. alpina ‘Columbine White’), Clematis virginiana and Clematis ‘Albina Plena’. Fast-forward to Tasmania (Feb 2019) – I was keen to meet with Tasmanian clematis natives but none were seen in the 200-year old Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart (the capital) even though it was end of their 2019 summer. I also missed them in the native-inspired garden at ‘Inverawe Native Gardens’ in Margate, south of Hobart, which is a recommended garden to visit. Going from 40°C in Hobart to a snowstorm in Cradle Mountain two days later gave plenty of scope to find habitats for clematis, but none were encountered in the countryside of large expanses of grass and burnt-up patches of Eucalyptus forest. There are six native species in Australia and C. gentianoides (Bushy Clematis) is the only non-

Clematis gentianoides demonstrating its clear white tepals and upstanding floral parts

climbing species endemic to Tasmania. It only grows in the north-east of Tasmania and as I did not survey that area well, none were seen. However, visiting the biodiverse gardens at Wakehurst Place in West Sussex a few weeks later, imagine my surprise to come face to face with this Tasmanian endemic growing as a short sprawling plant, and almost shaded out beneath the tall antipodean species such as Leptospermum. It is said to live in poor soils and can tolerate frosts down to 10°C. At Wakehurst it was a bright ray of light in the undergrowth with its white 15

The Clematis 2019 tepals – bright enough to attract night pollinators, and its floral parts were magnificent. Those who do venture down under are well advised to stop over in Singapore to walk in the two huge biomes at spectacular ‘The Gardens of The Bay’ that re-create European habitats and which are full of familiar plants including clematis. The beds and borders are perfectly managed, colourful and biodiverse. The clematis seen were as follows:

One of the large biomes at The Gardens by The Bay, in Singapore

Clematis ‘Rōguchi’ at The Gardens by The Bay

The Clematis 2019 Clematis ‘Shōun’

Returning to England, I was pleased to have a magnificent display of Clematis × cartmanii ‘Avalanche’ – I like clematis colours en masse. Bibliography Histoire Naturelle Illustrée, Les Plantes: J. Costantin & F. Faideau: ©Librairie Larousse, Paris 1922. (NB Title image of article, from above book: Dr Feltwell has written to the publisher several times in attempting to locate the copyright holder.)

Clematis × cartmanii ‘Avalanche’

Webography Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. https://gardens.rtbg.tas.gov.au/ (accessed 7 Sept 2019). Inverawe Native Gardens. Tasmania’s Largest Landscape Native Garden http://inverawe.com.au/ (accessed 7 Sept 2019). Australian National Herbarium, 2019. Growing Native Plants. www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns2004/ Gardens of the Bay, Singapore www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/

The Clematis 2019

New Garden, Fresh Challenges Charne Griffiths UK charnegrif@aol.com

bout a year ago I wrote an article (in the BCS Newsletter) about the first few months in our new garden, explaining that at outset there was little here apart from a few overgrown trees, ivy and a lot of bamboo. The first challenge was ‘how to find places to support clematis growth?’. Husband Michael and our jobbing gardener made great strides in clearing the ivy, removing the bamboo and clearing the undergrowth. We had one large conifer removed and a number of tree stumps were painstakingly ground out; unfortunately the stumps were not big enough to be hosts to clematis, just unwanted obstructions where they happened to be positioned. Left: South side in 2017. Below: 2019

Michael sketched out a plan for flowerbeds surrounding two sides of the bungalow; on the wider side a grass path plus a further flowerbed were incorporated. We purchased some supports from Agriframes and Michael then put up a number of trellises, surrounding the patio; decking was laid to one side of the bungalow and a new fence was added behind the flowerbed on the other side. The supports from Agriframes include a double arch (on the side of the bungalow), a ten-foot pergola and a three-cornered support. We find Agriframes products good for clematis because they are infilled with lattice, enabling climbing without too much tying in. We also planted a 18

The Clematis 2019 number of flowering shrubs which will hopefully provide good hosts for clematis and give us extended flowering periods. ‘M Koster’ and CONFETTI

Our next immediate concern was the condition/type of the soil. In our previous garden it had been mainly heavy clay and alkaline but here it is light, sandy and acid. I always used to grow large-flowered clematis in pots but in this garden I think they may well do better in the ground. Some, such as CÉZANNE (C. ‘Evipo023’) and DIANA’S DELIGHT (C. Evipo026’) were planted last year and have reappeared and flowered this year. Although the soil is light, this bungalow is on the site of what was previously an agricultural holding – the farmyard was roughly where the flowerbeds are now, therefore it is reasonable to assume that the soil here was manured frequently. C. ‘Mary Rose’ on the new fence

The Clematis 2019 There is a slope on the eastern side of the garden, meaning that water given to plants in this area drains away quickly. Last year, during the hot spell we had in summer, we had to water every day to keep the new plants from dying. Most of them survived, including many clematis in pots on the patio. We have discovered that there is also a small frost pocket at the bottom of this eastern slope and a late spring frost took all the flowers off a lilac and a hydrangea in this area. I have planted a C. macropetala cultivar in this area lately, positioning it to grow up a Kolkwitzia in the hope that it will not be damaged if we have another late frost, next year. Where clematis are planted on the south side fence of the garden we have put in drainage tubes to lead the water directly to the roots. C. ‘Forget-me-not NLP1’ Deciding where to plant the clematis was not done too scientifically although I did try to keep colour coordination in mind. In moving to this new plot – in our seventies – we were anxious to get plants established as soon as possible, at the same time trying to get as many plants as possible into the ground before the onset of winter. Other perennials can always be moved at a later date but this is not so easy with clematis (although not impossible). This has meant that there have been one or two unintentional mistakes. Last year I had Michael plant C. ‘M Koster’ and CONFETTI (C. ‘Evipo036’) on either side of a wooden obelisk we had brought with us. In our previous garden, CONFETTI had never got as far as flowering because the voles ate the new shoots each year as they came through. I had believed that this was a pale pink clematis only to discover, of course, that it is much the same colour as C. ‘M Koster’, although a different shape and size of flower. This year I have planted C. ‘White Magic’ with them, to provide some contrast. This year the planting of LUCKY CHARM (C. ‘Zo09067’) on the new archway near the bungalow did not quite work out as anticipated – it shot up on to the highest part of the 20

The Clematis 2019

Clematis × vedrariensis ‘Hidcote’

Clematis × durandii is planted against a variegated privet

The Clematis 2019

‘Madame Julia Correvon’

The Clematis 2019 arch with upward facing flowers on the top! Fortunately, the other two clematis on this arch behaved well and flowered on the side, where we can see them. Next year I will try to train LUCKY CHARM

round to the side, where there is now a new piece of trellis. SUNNY SKY and

‘Maria Cornelia’ just getting established

At the start of the year I was doubtful about the C. ‘Mary Rose’ (C. viticella ‘Flore Pleno’) that we had planted early in 2018; although it had started to flower in the summer our helper in the garden had accidentally strimmed it off low down, while clearing the edges of grass in the area we call ‘the orchard’. I fed it and watered it in the autumn and we put a protective mesh around it – it has grown really well and was flowering along the fence until an August storm shrivelled it somewhat. It just shows that the advice to cut clematis back when planting is sound, if only we could be brave enough to follow it! In the previous garden a number of clematis had been planted in bottomless pots. This was done to give them a chance to get established in flower beds that were already crowded with plants. These particular clematis were much easier to dig up and bring 23

The Clematis 2019 with us and we were able to replant most of them directly into the new soil, as there were fewer competing plants. I had erroneously believed that one of the clematis we brought in bottomless pots was C. ‘Dutch Sky’ but was surprised and pleased to discover that it was in fact C. ‘Forget-me-not NLP1’ (C. ‘Forget-me-not’ [New Leaf Plants]), which had been growing in an opposing bed. So much for giving instructions to one’s other half but not pointing out exactly which plant was meant! ‘Forget-me-not’ is a much prettier blue than the rather washed out C. ‘Dutch Sky’. There are a number of clematis planted near new shrubs in the hope that the clematis and shrub can grow together to a good size. Making sure these plants get enough water will be critical. We have tried to make use of the few shrubs and trees that were already here. My two Clematis × vedrariensis ‘Hidcote’ are planted against a Prunus and an apple tree respectively. Clematis × durandii is planted against a variegated privet and C. ‘Madame Julia Correvon’ trails over a small golden Euonymus. When planting clematis we put ‘rootgrow’ in the planting hole and add water retaining crystals to try to encourage rooting and make sure there is moisture available in the first year or so. There are other clematis that we are trying to grow up trees, by putting netting around the trunks, and they are beginning to respond. Again, watering will be very important. To-date there are fifty-two clematis planted and nine more in pots, waiting for homes. The garden does not consist just of clematis – I brought collections of day lilies, hostas and asters with us also. Previously I had a large collection of herbaceous geraniums and have now started to collect a new set, but without some of the thugs which tried to take over! A number of our large dahlias travelled with us too – they are flowering vigorously in their second year here. It must be true that I am a plantaholic but clematis are my first love. All in all, the plants seem to be as happy about our move as we are. 24

The Clematis 2019

A History of Grafton Cottage Peter and Margaret Hargreaves UK marpeter1@btinternet.com

elcome to Grafton Cottage, which dates back to the 1840s and was built as a water workers’ cottage, a two up and two down. It was named by one of the previous owners who apparently kept bees. I love the name because of its connection with gardening. We have lived here for forty three years. My interest in gardening stems from when as a very young girl I would help my father in the vegetable plot and walk the fields identifying the wildflowers; my most vivid memory is being mesmerized by the colours of my mother’s Sweet Williams – their vibrant colours would fascinate me. I could not resist them and would just have to pick them. When we moved to Grafton Cottage the front of the house was mainly concrete with a pump by the front door, as can be seen in the photos in the Summer House. The back of the house was a rectangular lawn, down to the pig sty, divided from the field by a hedge, a wonderful habitat for bird life. To us the outstanding feature at the time was the lovely old apple tree identified as a Rosey Bramley which fruits extremely well. The soil is alkaline, ideal for growing herbaceous plants. Since we have lived here we have been fortunate to have purchased more land that we divided up by 25

The Clematis 2019 means of trellis work. Thus our interest in roses became more developed, followed by a love of clematis, of which we have over a hundred varieties, mainly from the Viticella Group. They are easy to prune and less likely to succumb to wilt. The clematis mingle amongst the roses but my real love is to let them romp amongst the borders making useful fillers at different times of the season. I love to go plant hunting so that I have new varieties each season, not only for my own interest but for the many visitors that come to the garden. Most of the beds are colour schemed, my reasoning behind this idea is that the beds complement one another and are more pleasing and relaxing to the eye of the beholder. The last part of the garden to be changed was the vegetable patch; we dug part of it out to create a different level in the garden then in 2017 we created a parterre on the remainder, in celebration of twentyfive years of opening under the National Garden Scheme (NGS). We grow all our vegetables on a large allotment in the village, keeping ourselves self-sufficient for most of the year. The roses and clematis are fed in the winter with old cow manure and in February with blood fish and bone meal. Weeding is carried out during the spring months – the

‘Emilia Plater’ on trellis

The Clematis 2019

intense planting helps to keep them at bay. The front garden has a display of tulips and wallflowers in spring, all colour schemed of course and in summer months consists of mainly annuals, because of the heat, as the cottage faces south. I still keep up my mother’s tradition of growing Sweet Williams and Canterbury Bells as well as Cornflowers, Larkspur and so on. It is vital that a garden relates to the architecture of 27

The Clematis 2019

‘Chacewater’

the house. To further enhance the ambience we have included many perfumed plants, an all important aspect of any country garden. We have a small formal box area which replaced an elegant cedar (which unfortunately had to be cut down, due to it breaking up the paths). The object of the 28

The Clematis 2019 project was to introduce all round colour in the area, in keeping with the cottage setting. Recently we have introduced the lawn roller (a relic of my childhood days where my gardening began), an amphitheatre to house bright red pelargoniums, Clematis viticella and a secret garden door. No doubt other features will be added to the garden in due course. There is always something to do in a garden but it is a very rewarding hobby. Our endeavour has always been to create a little haven for all the wildlife (excluding pigeons and rabbits of course!) and for it to give us pleasure. We were open on twenty occasions during 2018 which meant that over 1100 people were able to see the garden. We sent cheques to NGS for £4,508.27 and to Alzheimer’s Research UK for £1,722.07. We have now raised over £62,000 for the NGS (Macmillan, Marie Curie etc) and over £83,000 in total in the twenty-six years we have opened for the NGS. We do hope you enjoy visiting and wandering around our abode. I am now going to put down my pen and pick up my scissors to dead head the flowers and listen to the bird songs. What could be better? 29

The Clematis 2019

Thoughts of A Botanical Artist

My studio

Jean Harley UK jharley5@icloud.com [Ed.] In last year’s edition we had the great fortune to be able to publish some of Jean’s superb clematis paintings and we are now presented with a little insight into the thinking and methodology that goes into botanical painting.

hy do I grow Clematis? Well, I have always surrounded myself with flowers and over the years have painted many of them. In earlier times, though, the only clematis I had were some from the Montana Group – but that changed when I visited Ness Gardens to study Botanical Painting and realised how many different species, growth patterns, flower and leaf shapes there are. So many different colours and patterns – a plant for every season. The very first clematis I ever painted was Clematis × durandii, which was published on page 32 in The Clematis 2018. My original plan was to have a clematis in growth or 30

The Clematis 2019 or in flower every month of the year, and to paint every one of them. Have I managed to achieve this? Not yet, as life gets in the way, but I am still trying. At the moment I have more than twenty clematis in my garden. Some are the strongly-coloured showy summer types but I also have some sweet delicate ones too, and I have flowers all the year round. I have grown several others (sadly one or two have been lost along the way) including Clematis armandii, VIENNETTA (C. ‘Evipo006’), C. florida var. florida ‘Sieboldiana’, ‘Bill MacKenzie’, C. cirrhosa var. purpurascens ‘Freckles’, ‘Elsa Späth’, ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ and ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’. Of all the plants I have ever had I have still only been able to find time to paint Clematis armandii, VIENNETTA (C. ‘Evipo006’), ‘Vyvyan Pennell’, AMBER (Clematis ‘Wit141205’), ‘Betty Corning’, ‘Alionushka’ and of course Clematis × durandii, so I still have a long way to go. My 31

The Clematis 2019 current ‘works in progress’ include C. florida var. florida ‘Sieboldiana’, ‘Princess Diana’, Clematis × triternata ‘Rubromarginata’ and PRINCESS KATE (C. ‘Zoprika’). It is clear that I lean very much towards the blue/purple in my choice of plants to paint, however I have promised my little ‘Hutbron’ (formerly ‘Fragrant Oberon’) that, if he obliges me by flowering well, I shall attempt a painting of him this winter. It takes a long time to create and finish a botanical painting. Firstly I like to make detailed drawings of every part of the plant: stems, growing habit, leaves, flowers (in great detail) and seeds. Everything has to be 100% correct. I use a magnifying glass and also take lots of very detailed photos. I cross reference everything with other published images that I come across in books and online, although I did of course begin painting plants long before the internet existed. Then you have to get the colours right, and every sepal can be slightly different. It is therefore necessary to spend a long time researching and practising before actually feeling ready to start painting – by which time the plant has finished flowering so, you wait until next year! I like to be able to put the finishing touches to a botanical painting when I can have the plant in growth in front of me. I am of course inspired to paint other plants and flowers too, especially orchids, as well as wildlife and domestic animals. Just for a change, and to make sure I don’t get too involved with detail and close work, I will paint a land or seascape, or perhaps even go completely bonkers and try the odd (sometimes very odd) abstract painting. I exhibit my paintings on a regular basis and preparing for this takes a lot of time. I make cards from my botanical and other paintings and sell these to raise money for our local Hospice. I do most of my own gardening, spending a lot of time propagating and selling my plants (also in aid of the Hospice). The only thing I need outside help with is shrub and tree maintenance. So, with all this plus shopping, cooking and all the household tasks to fit in as well, it is not surprising that I often only manage to finish one or two clematis paintings a year – but I am sure I will never run out of subjects and never lose my love of clematis. 32

The Clematis 2019

Gardening is now a Spectator Sport Marie-France Holt Canada fhbug@gmail.com

ooking back, I have to compliment myself on selecting fine folks to work with me in my gardens over the years. Lately I have had some mysterious back trouble and emotional baggage following the passing of my husband in April. But as I'm certain each of you knows, the garden is a wonderful place to contemplate life and beauty, and in my case I have had fine people to assist me. Because I have never enjoyed driving, friends have taken me on outings to nurseries, which is a great treat. Although there are good days when I can weed, edge and plant a bit, I now delegate the removal of large shrubs and weeds to those who are younger than I am. The lawn has needed a good bit of mowing as we have had a great deal of rain lately, but I am not as strong as before and this is an easy task for my helper. I am pleased to say he even enjoys it! 33

The Clematis 2019

Developing a shady area

A woodland path

The Clematis 2019

Clematis × triternata 'Rubromarginata'

A shaded walk

The Clematis 2019

Eliminating a giant chunk of cement

Standing back and making decisions about the overall look of things is fun, though new to me. Most recently we have been working on making things more cohesive in a shade area. It was a ‘one of everything’ spot and I am really pleased with how it is developing. 36

The Clematis 2019

Stone edging bordered by new fences

With help, I have added a stone edging to the area and added more Brunnera, Ferns, Pulmonaria, Gentians and Ajuga. Gone are the weak red Coreopsis and scraggly Geraniums. In a different expanded location I have had him add several interesting Arisaemas, Epimediums, Hostas and Erythroniums. He is not as enthusiastic about Clematis, which I insist upon installing all about. All those tuteurs are difficult to place, it seems, because they often hit rocks! Yet he did recently comment on liking Clematis × triternata 'Rubromarginata'. Progress! Another friend is a fabulous carpenter. He has built a wonderful bench along the woodland path, a potting bench and more recently replaced a broken old fence with a wonderful new structure that really enhances the front of the house. My son also was a huge help this spring. He eliminated a giant chunk of cement so that we could plant some lady's mantle and clematis. Soon it will be time to plant some more bulbs. My back will not like this job. It is fun that we consider this ‘our’ garden. We have bounced ideas off each other since we began the garden back in the autumn of 2014. It works. We respect each other’s opinions. He is the one who amended the soil at the very start, who helped create a woodland path and so much more. His strength is in planting seeds and growing vegetable crops, yet he has a knowledge of perennials that is nothing to sneeze at! We are both still learning! Nurture that bond you have with garden friends. It is well worth it for you both. 37

The Clematis 2019

The Haphazard Gardener

Editorial by Katy Rice published in The Argus www.theargus.co.uk

oreword from Penelope Hellyer:

The Haphazard Gardener is an autobiographical account of my gardening years at Orchards, Rowfant, Sussex - formerly the home and garden of my late parents gardening author, journalist and photographer Arthur Hellyer and his wife Gay. To take on the seven acre garden of such a professional amateur should have been overwhelming but it was a pleasure. As his daughter, a working amateur gardener - my story is quite unique. I have written this account of my parents and my time at Orchards because in their own ways, both of our journeys were exceptional. Their vision - turning the scrubby field into a smallholding through the war years - to the mature garden which I took on, was extraordinary. My planting and development of the garden further enhanced the woodland setting; reaching an entirely new dimension after meeting my husband Philip. The garden, now closed to the public, gave enormous pleasure to the visitors who came; Arthur - whose books are still lauded by gardening professionals - shared his love of plants and gardening with thousands. This book will bring back memories to all the visitors who were able to enjoy his garden.

early twenty years after his death, horticultural writer Arthur Hellyer remains a guru of the gardening world for his invaluable advice shared with the public in more than a hundred books. Less well known is the tale of how he and wife Grace, known as Gay, transformed a ‘seven-acre piece of scrubland full of brambles, willow scrub and long grass that hadn’t been cultivated for over fifty years’ into a remarkable Sussex garden. Their daughter Penelope Hellyer has written a memoir entitled The Haphazard Gardener, a sentimental journey through the story of Orchards at Rowfant, near Crawley. It traces the garden’s unpromising beginnings and development by her parents, her childhood spent in the garden and her restoration of it after her parents’ deaths. She is the eponymous ‘haphazard gardener’, the inheritor of a garden with which she ‘was in love’ but which ultimately she would be forced to give up. ‘To take on the garden of such a professional amateur should have been a daunting task,’ Penelope writes. ‘But for me, it was a pleasure. The house and garden at Orchards was my home for fiftyseven years, and the most rewarding period of my life was when my ambition to open my own specialist nursery was fulfilled and the garden of the great Arthur Hellyer became accessible to the general public.’ 38

The Clematis 2019 Arthur Hellyer and his wife Gay, who taught zoology, botany and biology at schools including East Grinstead Grammar School, bought the land at Rowfant in 1933 when he was already an established gardening writer as the author of The Alphabet Of Gardening and simultaneously working at Amateur Gardening magazine, which he would go on to edit for more than twenty years. Above and below, Arthur and Gay Hellyer

Early in their marriage Arthur and Gay lived in Merton Park, but were searching Sussex for a plot to garden and build a weekend shack on, when they found Orchards. ‘Gay, the botanist, fell in love with it,’ writes Penelope. Arthur said, ‘If you think I am making a garden here, you’ve got another think coming.’ Despite his misgivings, they had a well sunk and over the next few years began building a house to Gay’s design of a Canadian barn, which was completed just before the Second World War. In 1939 the Hellyers moved in and ran Orchards as a market garden, planting apple, pear, plum and cherry orchards. They also cultivated large fruit gardens of red, black and white currants, black and white gooseberry bushes, raspberry and strawberry beds, a small grove of nut bushes and a large vegetable garden. Many ornamental trees and shrubs were planted too, Penelope reveals after discovering a 39

The Clematis 2019 Garden Record book among old papers. Roses were planted in 1938 and the orchards were carefully planned and then planted towards the middle part of 1939. After the war, by now in their mid-40s, the Hellyers adopted two baby boys who they named Edward and Peter. Then in 1949 they fostered Penelope. As they were making plans to adopt her in the early 1950s, they steadily added trees, shrubs and roses to Orchards, introducing rhododendrons in the spring and autumn of 1952 and more in 1958 and 1971. A ‘huge number of camellias’ were planted in a top corner in 1953, and thirty-six unidentified azaleas were bought in 1955. ‘I believe they were probably Azalea mollis,’ writes Penelope, ‘with yellow or orange flowers that filled the woodlands with heady scent. Hundreds more shrubs, roses and climbers were introduced by them both over the years.’ Penelope describes an ‘idyllic’ childhood, the three children free to roam as far and wide as they liked.

Arthur and Gay rotovating at Orchards

Mother’s encouragement ‘The garden at Orchards was a wilderness you could lose yourself in,’ she writes. Used as a training ground for Gay’s students and as a photographic backdrop for Arthur’s books and articles for publications such as Country Life magazine, the garden inspired Penelope’s own interest in horticulture. ‘Gay had been my driving force; always the educator, keen to share her knowledge,’ she writes. ‘I felt certain that my appreciation of plants was down to Gay, not Arthur. He was always so busy working the garden, writing about it, editing, travelling, lecturing and judging.’ When Penelope married she and her husband moved into a service bungalow in the grounds of Orchards where she created her own garden. Her parents encouraged her by giving her a greenhouse of her own for her twenty-fourth birthday. ‘Maybe they were tired of me taking over theirs,’ she writes. ‘Although I already grew vegetables, at this stage my outlook was lazy and haphazard.’ 40

The Clematis 2019 Penelope Hellyer

Following the death of her mother in 1977 Penelope and Arthur swapped houses, and the garden oscillated through periods of neglect and revival. Penelope’s ‘huge campaign of restoration’ from when she first moved into the main house sadly dissipated as her marriage began to break down, and the greenhouse became her refuge instead. In despair she put the house on the market, only to quickly withdraw it again. The decision proved wise, as the following year she met her second husband, Philip, and inspired by family friend Rosemary Verey, the late garden designer and writer, they made the garden their ‘labour of love’ together. Early changes earned the approval of Arthur, but when he died in 1993, caring for the garden ‘became a way of life’. Walls were rebuilt, borders and plants moved, and new features, trees and plants introduced. While the garden was still a work in progress, Penelope and Philip opened it to the public. ‘We wanted to share our patch of heaven with anyone who wanted to come and see it’ writes Penelope. ‘And they came in their hundreds, so many glad to be able to see where Arthur had written his books and drawn his inspiration.’ Ill health forced Penelope and Philip to sell Orchards in 2004 and retire to Italy, where they created a new garden with roses, climbers and shrubs from Orchards. ‘I still love it and miss it, but I no longer ache for it,’ she says. ‘I could still tell you where particular trees and shrubs were sited in the garden and how it must look at certain times in the season. But my overall sadness at leaving it was tempered with relief. I feel at peace with my decision.’ Penelope has since moved back from Italy to the Sussex coast, where many of the plants from Orchards still flourish today. The Haphazard Gardener - available on Amazon Kindle as an e-book and as a paperback. at FeedaRead.com

All images ©Penelope Hellyer

This article first published by The Argus, Dolphin House, 2-5 Manchester Street, Brighton BN2 1TF 41

The Clematis 2019

WEIRD WEATHER

‘Marie Boisselot’

Glenis Dyer UK glenisdyer@gmail.com

n ‘normal’ seasons, most clematis are springing energetically into action by January, hence the general instruction to prune the Group 2 and Group 3 types in February. This year, however, I did not find the typical vigorous growth we normally find. Not having time in February to do all my pruning (snowdrop season means we have to have the garden tidied up well before February), it has been my habit to prune all the Group 3 plants any time from November onwards as the weather and my time and energy permit, leaving only the Group 2 (Optional pruning) types until February, by which time the ‘plump pair of buds’ that we are exhorted to look out for are normally very visible. Not this year, though. Was it the very dry winter which delayed their development? The Group 2 cultivars that I have (‘Marie Boisselot’, ‘Lasurstern’, ‘Silver Moon’, ‘Mrs N Thompson’, ‘Richard Pennell’, ‘Fond ‘Lasurstern’ 42

The Clematis 2019

‘Mrs N Thompson’

Memories’, ‘Guernsey Cream’, ‘Piilu’ etc) actually performed very well despite the dry winter, but they were much shorter than usual which must have reflected the relative

‘Pamiat Serdtsa’

The Clematis 2019

‘Alionushka’

lack of moisture at their roots. In addition, normally the Group 3 types are well out of the starting blocks by February, and while some performed more or less as usual there was little or no growth on some stalwarts such as ‘Prince Charles’, ‘Etoile Violette’, ‘Entel’ and ‘Pamiat Serdtsa’ (yet her ‘sister’ plants, ‘Alionushka’, were already 3 feet tall). And as for the texensis hybrids, I thought I had lost some of these completely, as it was early June before some put in an appearance – QUEEN MOTHER (‘Zoqum’) only appeared above ground on 10th June (much to my relief, as she is such a ‘good doer’), and ‘Etoile Rose’ was only a week or so earlier. (PRINCESS KATE (‘Zoprika’) sprouted in May, much to my relief). ‘Gravetye Beauty’ is even now only 6” tall, yet my KONINGIN MAXIMA (‘Wellmax’) is already 6’ high and with buds ready to burst. BLUE ANGEL (C. ‘Błękitny Anioł’) was reasonably early, and ‘Odoriba’ (3 plants),

BLUE ANGEL (C. ‘Błękitny Anioł’), ‘Jenny Caddick’ and friends

The Clematis 2019

‘Betty Corning’ and ‘Walenburg’

‘Betty Corning’ (4 plants), ‘Etoile Violette’, ‘Taiga’, OOH LA LA (‘Evipo041’), MISSISSIPPI RIVER (‘Zomisri’), BLUE RIVER (‘Zoblueriver’), ‘Pagoda’, × diversifolia ‘Eriostemon’, Clematis fusca, ‘Juuli’, ‘Lord Herschell’ and ← ‘Blue Pirouette’, are all in flower now as I write just before mid-June, and most of my gorgeous Integrifolia Group plants have been out for several weeks now apart from one or two laggards. Three or four of my Viorna types (since hearing Dwayne Estes’s lecture on this section I would not dare to name the species my plants actually belong to, but they are all Viornae!) are also well into flower now, although two specimens have not put in an appearance at all yet. However, 45

The Clematis 2019

‘Etoile Violette’

there is still time and I live in hope. Growth on the Group 3 cultivars is a little convoluted this year, too, as they seem to be meandering along the ground, through

‘Juuli’

The Clematis 2019

‘Madame Julia Correvon’

AVANT-GARDE (‘Evipo033’)

The Clematis 2019

‘Aotearoa’

other plants or diverting at right angles from their supports and not, generally speaking, reaching for the sky, as is their wont. Maybe the lack of control in their growth is because I have not had the time to tie-in the early growth (though I did ‘Chelsea Chop’ some of the more vigorous plants last month).

The Clematis 2019 Other Group 3 cultivars – ‘Entel’, ‘John Treasure’, Clematis × triternata ‘Rubromarginata’, ‘Sweet Summer Love’, ‘Mary Rose’ (C. viticella ‘Flore Pleno’), ‘Maria Cornelia’, Clematis × durandii, ‘Emilia Plater’, ‘Viola’, ‘Romantika’, ‘Margot Koster’, ‘Madame Julia Correvon’, FOREVER FRIENDS (‘Zofofri’), ‘Fujimusume’, ‘Polish Spirit’, ‘Purpurea Plena Elegans’, ‘Hågelby Pink’ and ‘Hågelby White’, ‘Hendryetta’, ‘Ekstra’, ‘Eetika’, ‘John Howells’, MIENIE BELLE (‘Zomibel’), MON AMOUR (‘Zomoa’) , ‘Perle d’Azur’, ‘Snow Queen’, ‘Tie Dye’, × diversifolia ‘Benedikt’ and many more will extend the season well into autumn.

‘Hågelby Pink’

‘Joan Baker’

No two years ever seem to produce the same flowering results for all clematis, yet some cultivars are consistently reliable; however, even choosing a ‘Top Ten’ would be immensely difficult (how can one have favourites amongst one’s children?) and as for choosing the best of the best – IMPOSSIBLE. 49

The Clematis 2019

Battling an Obsession

‘Kermesina’

Charlie Pridham UK charlie@roselandhouse.co.uk

ome years ago I attended a talk by Dilys Davies (it was actually on Alliums but we can skate over that bit!) At the start she made the comment that there were really only two types of gardeners – ‘designers’ and ‘collectors’. I have often thought since how easy life would be if I had been born a ‘designer’. Half a dozen carefully chosen and placed plants, bit of tasteful hard landscaping and Bob’s your mother’s brother. No doubt a ‘designer’ would be quite happy to sit and gaze upon their carefully crafted perfection. Unfortunately I would be bored within minutes, for at heart I am a ‘collector’. I say unfortunately because if I could only restrict myself to perhaps just Clematis all would be well, but no, I have various and changing passions. These days it is mostly for climbing plants but I like the garden stuffed, which brings us eventually to the point of this, Clematis. ‘Hågelby Pink’

It was quite early in my gardening obsessions I realised that if I grew the hard prune type clematis I 50

The Clematis 2019 could in effect have all the other plants I craved and then grow clematis up them, a sort of horticultural ‘having one’s cake and eating it’. However a quick look at the Plant Finder will show the problem – there are a lot of clematis out there. So in order to maintain sanity I decided very early on I would restrict myself to just one Group of clematis, the Viticella types.

‘Vanessa’

Back in the early 1990s when we started the National Collection there were only around thirty such varieties with the .vt after their entry so this seemed a smart move. However, there was a sudden upsurge of interest in this particular subsection and over the years 51

The Clematis 2019

‘Södertälje’

‘Huldine’

The Clematis 2019 the collection has steadily risen to around a hundred. It is true that it would be possible to expel some plants as they are not very Viticella-like, but then another bad character trait of mine creeps in – the inability to get rid of stuff I don't want! Which leaves me with the problem of housing a lot of plants in what is not a huge garden, especially when, as a National Collection holder, I am supposed to have three of everything! Long gone are the days when my long suffering shrubs only have one clematis to host, most now have three and some up to five. Occasionally I misjudge the pairing and the host gets swamped like the job ‘Hågelby Pink’ has done to a rather unfortunate

Both images ‘Kermesina’

The Clematis 2019 Deutzia × hybrida 'Magicien'. Sometimes it’s the other way around and the poor clematis struggles to get to grips with its host. 'Lavender Twirl'

Then each July I am reminded as to why I do it, as they all start to come into flower; I especially love the way that each year is different to the last. Have you noticed how a carefully chosen clematis you have imagined looking wonderful growing over a particular host will totally ignore your plans? In the case of a naughty 'Vanessa' who is supposed to grow over a large camellia but instead insists on heading into a nearby Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra). I rather like the effect and am amazed each year to see her survive all the gales intact and carrying on flowering, despite the extreme movement of the bamboo in the wind. ‘Södertälje’ has proved its credentials by each year covering a Philadelphus coronarius. This large ugly shrub, which for three or four glorious weeks each summer fills the garden with scent, definitely needs the help of its companion clematis to look good for the rest of the summer. While up by the house 'Huldine' does such a good job of covering a camellia that people don't believe me when I tell them what's underneath – fortunately the Camellia's flowering period of December to April is unaffected. 54

The Clematis 2019

Numerous clematis adorn the fruit cage

Now 'Kermesina' may be one of the older plants in the collection but it regularly tops the big evergreen Pittosporum six metres or more from the ground. I love them all but if I had to pick a favourite it would be 'Poldice'. It doesn't seem to matter where we plant it, it just romps away; we were delighted when it was given its AGM by the RHS. One day I hope to see 'Lavender Twirl' held in similar high regard as it seems equally happy growing up through tall shrubs or hunkering down among the lilies. We are always searching for ever more planting opportunities and a number of years ago we changed from the woven plastic mesh on our fruit cage to chicken wire. Numerous clematis now call this structure Home. But there I must leave you as it has just rained (in a useful way), so I can get back ‘Poldice’ outdoors and plant some more. Hopefully no one will find a cure for my obsession as I rather like our garden just the way it is! 55

The Clematis 2019

A Thousand Invisible Cords

Earth air water continuum

Fran Palmeri USA franpalmeri@gmail.com

icture the gardener’s hand passing a Clematis viticella cutting over the fence to a neighbour who, grateful for the gift, puts it in the ground. The plant thrives and migrates to another garden. In Life in the Garden Penelope Lively sees this as ‘a unifying, bonding experience…neighbouring gardening usually involves exchange of cuttings or divisions. Sometimes you can see, looking at a line of front gardens, where someone’s flourishing pink or Michaelmas daisy has made its way along the street, handed on to ‘go forth and multiply’. There’s no chance of my native plants migrating from the screened porch of my second floor condo but I do exchange cuttings with my neighbour, Gloria Flynn. She’s a gardening fanatic who has filled up her place with flowers, herbs, ferns, even a small tree. Connectivity in the neighborhood is to be treasured. Alexander von Humboldt embraced it on a grand scale. He and Aime Bonpland, a French botanist, explored the rivers of South America in the late 1700s. Making the arduous journey by canoe up the Orinoco they discovered that the Casiquiare fed into the Amazon, proof that these two great river systems in the New World were linked. Five years later in 1802, the two were back in South America, this time to climb the Andes and survey ecosystems at different altitudes. Botany was Humboldt’s first love; he was a trained geologist as well. In Ecuador on Chimborazo Volcano, he came across a moss similar to one he had known growing up in his native Prussia. Could plants growing at certain altitudes on one continent be related to those on other continents under similar conditions? 56

The Clematis 2019

Red saddlebag dragonfly

‘Humboldt was not so much interested in finding new isolated facts but in connecting them’, Andrea Wulf observed in The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World. He took that thought a step further. Seeing how the Americas and Africa fit together as pieces in a puzzle, he theorized that those continents had once been part of one huge landmass. In 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German geophysicist,

Gopher tortoise - home to 300 commensals in his burrow

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proposed his theory of continental drift, which would not be accepted widely until the second half of the twentieth century. In the 1960s, my geologist husband and I enthused about this ‘new’ concept of plate tectonics. Connectivity: people linked over time by a similar interest. American naturalist John Muir took the concept of connectivity to even further reaches, not limiting himself to this planet or even our solar system. In 1869 on his tramps through California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains seeing the relationships between plants, animals, even whole ecosystems he wrote in his journal ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken to everything else in the Universe.’ Most of us are planted in one spot, which we consider ‘our’ universe. My condo backs up to parkland, a natural area of moss-laden pines, scrub oaks, saw palmetto, vines, grasses and wildflowers. It’s like living in a tree house. I’m privy to the going’s on in a nearby eagle’s nest, the hooting of owls at night, bobwhites calling by day, flyovers by shorebirds, dragonflies swarming after heavy rains, butterflies drifting past. One evening the great horned owl, like a dark apparition, flew by at eye level. Dawn brings out rabbits foraging in the grasses. A gopher tortoise eats his greens at midday and all day long high atop the pines, squirrels perform their arabesques. Sometimes these touches of ‘wildness’ encroach on the well-tended lawn on my side of the fence. In A Little History of British Gardening Jenny Uglow describes a garden as ‘merely a boundary between us and the wild, a tamed sphere that always wants to revert to wilderness.’ I could spend the rest of my life on my back porch but the Florida peninsula in its entirety has been a consuming interest since childhood. In 2001 when I started traipsing 58

The Clematis 2019 about seriously, it took a while to understand connectivity in a landscape. First I concentrated on pristine still lifes. But a spider would peek out from under a flower petal, ‘ruining’ my photo. Butterflies nectaring on Bidens alba or scrub oaks with scrub jays were acceptable to the people who bought my photos but not spiders or prickly pear cactus loaded with beetles. Then noting the disappearance of certain species like frogs it became urgent to let people know that all wildlife, including the spider, had its place in what Ralph Waldo Emerson called the ‘web of God.’ Working in little slices of a landscape caught in a millisecond of time I am limited in portraying the whole, a problem Chinese landscape painters met head-on centuries ago. From years of nature study they aspired to include the totality of elements in a scene and created scroll paintings which ‘walk’ the viewer through a landscape. Their painting ‘combines the element of time with that of space inviting us into a panorama unfolding before us’, writes Michael Sullivan, a British art historian in The Arts of China. They abandoned perspective which is limited to only one point of view in favour of inclusivity which implies the metaphysical truth of the ‘image beyond the image’. My friend John Beckner called this ‘gestalt’. Slowly my mindset evolved from still lifes to landscapes, individual animals and plants to ecosystems, discrete to inclusive. And an understanding of what belonged where. So often in Florida, bio-diversity goes by the wayside when a homebuilder 59

The Clematis 2019 scrapes a lot clean. Muir’s ‘thousand cords’ have been severed. When the house is built, a builder installs turf and a tree. That doesn’t do it. So it is up to us to create little oases of green growing things and attendant wildlife.

Laurel Schiller, a conservationist in Sarasota, lobbies for green corridors (above image) through ranchlands and agricultural lands to allow the free movement of species, so essential to plant and animal life. On a larger scale the Florida Wildlife Corridor works to ‘make connections, showing that connecting, protecting, and restoring corridors of conserved land and waters are essential for the survival of Florida’s wildlife.’ Clouds mimic the shape of trees

How are we connected to our environments? Americans get their nature ‘fix’ on the Discovery Channel and when visiting parks, drive through with windows closed, air conditioning on. A walk is exercise to be measured: an organized event like a field trip or 60

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Clematis crispa in seed

a goal like hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Before we get into the great outdoors, we equip, outfit and insulate ourselves as if for battle with bug-spray, sunblock, GPS, cellphones, water bottle. Urban dwellers walk. My niece lived in New York for thirty years; she doesn’t even know how to drive. But for the most part we Americans drive. Paths created in past eras have been transformed into motorways. Westward moving settlers drove their cattle over rough roads which later became major highways, such as Route 66 which crosses America. Out in the country the land is broken up into parcels of ranches, citrus groves, utility easements, bounded by fences making it impossible to cross except on roads. Often when I’m botanizing in the centre of Florida along a roadside, people stop to ask if I’m in trouble, so unusual is it to see someone on foot. The British are walkers, a practice going back many generations. Paths trodden by many generations of different peoples connect them to the land and to each other perhaps due to the fact that they CAN walk the countryside without being fenced out. ‘Many regions still have their old ways, connecting place to place’ writes Robert Macfarlane in The Old Ways, A Journey on Foot. ‘Paths connect. This is their first duty and their chief reason for being. They relate places in a literal sense and by extension, they relate people.’ He quotes Thomas Clark’s prose poem, In Praise of Walking, ‘Always, everywhere, people have walked, veining the earth with paths visible and invisible, symmetrical or meandering.’ Brian Carroll, an enthusiastic back yard gardener in south London and his American wife, Susan, love their walking vacations. He’s converted her to the British tradition of walking. Says Susan ‘We Brits know about walking for serious and for pleasure. We ramble and amble in all seasons; we’re planning to go to Sussex this fall.’ On a Sunday afternoon they may go to Down House. Herein lies another connection: Charles 61

The Clematis 2019 Darwin, who spent the last forty years of his life at Down House, was known for making connections with botanists all over the world. Is China and Clematis too tenuous a connection to even consider? British botanists have quested after clematis species for hundreds of years. During the age of botanical exploration, with almost half of the world’s species growing in China, there were ample opportunities to export them to Britain in the holds of sailing vessels, starting in the 1600s. C. florida was exported to Japan in 1661-73 and from there to Europe in the 18th century. Many of our common cultivars originate from this plant. Ernest Henry Wilson (also known as ‘Chinese’ Wilson), a botanist from the Cotswolds worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in1897 and then was hired by James Veitch and Sons to collect plant specimens in China. On his way out to the Far East he stopped at Harvard University in Boston to learn how to send plants and cuttings safely across the seas. Years before, Asa Gray, professor of natural history at Harvard had sent seeds of virgin’s bower C virginiana off on a stormy ride across a vast ocean to his friend and lifelong correspondent Charles Darwin at Down House, so he could sit in a ‘clematishung pergola’, a staple in the traditional English garden, according to Penelope Lively. Gray had met Darwin at Kew Gardens in 1839. Some of us ‘ramble’; others enjoy getting their hands in the soil. Penelope Lively writes how generations of women in her family are linked by their passion for gardening. ‘…garden begets garden, as in my family, where descendants of my grandmother’s aquilegias and primroses fetch up in her great-great-granddaughter’s rather small plot.’ I’m sure some of you have a family heritage of handing down Clematis species and cultivars. Jenny Uglow in A Little History of British Gardening writes ‘Gardens are always unfinished, telling a long tale of immigration and connection and transformation.’ Gardening was very much a part of their lives for my grandparents, all ‘off the boat’

A Floridan aquifer comes to the surface

The Clematis 2019 from the ‘old country’. They brought with them not cuttings or seeds but the desire to work the land, whether it be on a farm or alongside the stretch of railroad track my grandmother planted out with her fellow church members. How do I see connectivity in my ‘little patch of heaven’? On my porch I have a container garden which gets pummeled from time to time by thunderstorms. In my old plot I started out with what my Nursery partner calls ‘one, one, one gardening’ – putting plants in the ground because they were beautiful or they attracted butterflies and birds. It was only later I decided to create a plot in which every element was connected and tied to natural ecosystems in my vicinity. In a talk in April 2018 in Sarasota Florida, Andrea Wulf said ‘We would do well to accept and work with this concept of connectivity if we are to preserve this beautiful planet, accepting all species as viable sources of life and not subject to our whims, greed, or ignorance.’ A hundred and eighty years earlier, Emerson was writing in Nature.“…the unity in variety which meets us everywhere….A leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole. Each particle is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world.’ Connectivity: a governing principle of life, a ‘thousand invisible cords’ connecting all of existence for all time. Botanising…

Bibliography

Life in the Garden Penelope Lively, 2018: Penguin Books Ltd: ISBN: 9780241982181 The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World Andrea Wulf, 2016 ISBN: 9780345806291

A Little History of British Gardening Jenny Uglow, 2004: Chatto & Windus ISBN: 781784740313

The Arts of China Michael Sullivan, 1973: University of California Press: ISBN: 9780520294813

The Old Ways; A Journey on Foot Robert Macfarlane, 2012: Hamish Hamilton: ISBN 0241143810

All images ©Fran Palmeri

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Midlands Group Activities 2019 Charne Griffiths UK charnegrif@aol.com

his is a short resume of the activities of the Midland Group in 2019. The Group was set up by Josie Hulbert together with Bernard and Rosemarie Allen, and we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated organiser, in Josie, for this group for the last thirteen years. The Group are also now close-knit and extremely supportive. This means that we have had a full programme of garden visits and two indoor meetings this

Clematis ‘Viva Polonia’ in Alison’s garden

year. It gets harder to find gardens in the area that have a large number of clematis that we have not already visited. Obviously over thirteen years we have visited some places 64

The Clematis 2019 more than once but sometimes we visit gardens where it is ‘spot the clematis’. Most members are true gardeners and interested in other plants too. In March we had an indoor meeting at our regular venue in Stourbridge with thirtyseven members attending. Marcel Floyd brought lots of clematis and many were seen to disappear into the boots of members’ cars. Glenis Dyer gave an excellent talk and presentation on Companion Planting.

The BCS Midlands Group at Laurie’s garden

April saw the Group visiting Spetchley Park Gardens where a specialist plant fair was taking place. After visiting the plant fair members were able to explore the extensive gardens which are surrounded by ancient parkland, deer park and lakes. This historic garden is set in the wonderful Worcestershire countryside with far reaching views to the Malvern Hills. The Group visits in May were to two members’ gardens, not too far apart. We have visited both previously but both have so many lovely clematis as well as other fascinating plants that we are always privileged to visit again. On a rather overcast morning twentyfour members met at Laurie and Pauline’s garden in Redditch. The weather may have been dull but the garden far from it. Laurie has a large selection of clematis, some Atragenes were still holding their flowers: C. ‘Broughton Bride’ looked good, the Montanas were in flower along with some early large-flowering clematis. Laurie is also a keen Alpine plant collector and garden troughs and his immaculate greenhouse had many such plants. A marquee had been set up on the lawn and several members sat under there to enjoy tea and delicious cakes made by Laurie’s granddaughter Lillie. The proceeds of the sale of tea and cake raised money for the local Girl Guides as Lillie is a member. After we had perused the garden some of us took up an invitation to view live scenes of some blue tits nesting in a box which had a camera installed. Great stuff! We then moved on to Glenis and Eric Dyer’s garden in Welford on Avon. Glenis met us, unfortunately Eric was unwell and unable to be in the garden with us. The garden was full of some special plant treats and Glenis was at hand to answer all our 65

The Clematis 2019 questions. We wandered around admiring all manner of plants clematis, roses, peonies, hostas and so much more. On a beautiful almost midsummer day (June 22nd) we visited the garden of members Alison, Ben and Suzie. What a wonderful time we had! Some of us had a bit of a detour finding the hamlet as our sat navs took us on a mystery trip but eventually all twentyseven members arrived at the destination. Alison had a Clematis flag flying from her

Clematis montana ‘Alexander’ at Glenis’ garden

flagpole to help us identify the cottage, though the garden dripping with clematis was a good indication. Alison’s garden is a very lovely cottage garden full of clematis, roses, salvias as well as the old cottage garden staples. The studio roof planted with sedum caused much interest. The studio room, which overlooked fabulous views across the valley, was also much appreciated. We were also invited to view a neighbour’s garden which, again, was lovely and had equally great views. Ben, Alison and Suzie supplied us with a very tasty ploughman’s lunch and later we were also treated to Alison’s home-made cakes and tea. No charge was made for lunch, refreshments or garden visit, but a donation box was put out and I am very pleased to say our members donated £200 for the Alzheimers Society Most of our members had travelled a long distance but everyone agreed it was well worth the journey as we had such a nice afternoon. Our July visit was a little closer to home, at Westacres Kingswinford. On the day, after much rain, twenty members found this garden, a little off the main road. The day gave us a few showers but was mostly quite fine. Parking was at The Caves nursery which was very handy because, as fate would have it, there was a plant sale on! The garden seemed to be split into a few sub sections and true to description there seemed to be something for everyone: herbaceous borders, pond, lawn, shrubs and lots of maples in pots. We searched hard and found six clematis, so a bit of improvement needed there! 66

The Clematis 2019 The garden had lots of places to sit and dodge the showers and these were also useful to enjoy the tea and homemade cakes. It also had a fun factor with many ornaments amongst the borders and paths – even a model crocodile (or alligator – I don’t know the difference, I only know that if you see a real one coming out of the water, run like hell). All in all, it was a nice relaxing garden visit and we met some very nice people too. Quite a few of our group went on to nearby Ashwoods nursery and managed to buy a few more plants to take home. In August the group visited Boughton House Garden near Moreton in the Marsh. The weather was tricky, with very heavy thundery showers. We were lucky enough to enjoy a window of about an hour of fine weather to explore this lovely garden. The BBC had been filming there for Gardeners World a few days before and so everything was in tip-top shape. The borders were impressive and there were great swathes of them; they included some clematis dotted about, both climbing and herbaceous. When the storms reappeared we were able to retire to the beautiful tithe barn for refreshments, a small shop and plant sales. On a sunny Sunday in September the group went to Middleton Hall, Tamworth for their finishing visit. At this venue there was a courtyard with craft shops and a café as well as a walled garden, restored of recent years by volunteers. In the walled garden there were many late flowering plants in the borders but the few clematis seen were at the end of their flowering. There was a concealed pond in the centre and a gardener’s bothy, with views over the garden and back towards the historic house. In the garden there was also a blacksmith’s shop where the trainee blacksmith worked on local commissions. Midland Group members are now looking forward to the final event of the year which is an indoor meeting in October. It is planned that we will have a talk given by BCS member, Roy Nunn, and a revue of the year’s visits. Additional information supplied by Josie Hulbert.

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What’s ‘New’? Marcel Floyd UK sales@floydsclimbers.co.uk Floyds Clematis & Climbers

hat is ‘new’ in the Clematis world? New to me, that is – so if I happen to say, ‘this variety is new’ and you have had it for years, then you’re ahead of my game, so to speak! I have tried and tested the following varieties over the course of the last decade and I hereby assess their merits in the style of an RHS judge. I will award them either ‘Bronze’, ‘Silver’, ‘Silver Gilt’ or of course the coveted top award, ‘Gold’. The awards are based on 1. the number of flowers produced by the plant 2. the plant’s reliability, and 3. (being honest, but it does show appreciation of the flowers) how many of them we have sold in the time that we have grown them. Here we go: The ATRAGENES Plant name

My comments

SPIKY (C. ‘Zospi’)

Cobalt blue double nodding flowers in abundance in April

Silver Gilt

Spiky mahogany flowers. Love this one.

Gold

Lovely pale rose-pink flowers in April

Silver

Very unusual flowers, cream and lavender, spiky

Silver

OCTOPUS

(C. ‘Zooct’) COUNTRY ROSE

(C. ‘Zocoro’) SORBET (C. ‘Zosor’)

My judgement

The HYBRIDS Plant name PICOTEE

(C. ‘Zo09124’) MANDY (C. ‘Zo12153’) NUBIA

(C. ‘Evipo079’)

My comments Lovely big white flowers with dark pink edges in May/June and again in August I love this plant for the anthers – they really stand out against the pale lavender sepals Deep red flowers in abundance from May to September, only 4 feet high – fantastic plant 68

My judgement Gold Silver Gold! Best in show. We cannot grow enough of it!

The Clematis 2019 The HYBRIDS continued… Plant name NINON

(C. ‘Evipo052’) SARAH ELIZABETH

(C. ‘Evipo098’)

My comments

My judgement

Pure white flowers with red anthers, in May/June and again in August

Silver

Coral pink flowers in May and June and again in September

Needs time to show potential

The DOUBLES Plant name

My comments

GREEN PASSION

Green double flowers in May and June with single flowers in September Deep burgundy red double flowers in May/June and singles in September Washed-out lilac flowers May/June Semi-double white flowers June-August Blue and green double spiky flowers: fantastic plant

(C. ‘Zo11050’) CHARMAINE

(C. ‘Evipo022’) C. ‘Moonglow’* C. ‘First Love’

C. ‘Taiga’

My judgement Bronze Silver Gilt Bronze Silver Gold

*C. ‘Moonglow’ has not yet been formally registered

The VITICELLAS Plant name ASTRA NOVA

(C. ‘Zo09085’) SUPER NOVA

(C. ‘Zo09088’) ROSALYN

(C. ‘Zo09087’) SEA BREEZE

(C. ‘Zo09063’)

My comments

My judgement

Double white and purple flowers July to September

Silver

Lilac and white flowers July to September

Silver Gilt

Double raspberry spidery flowers July to September Pale blue/lavender flowers – from my customers, nothing but good things to say about this plant

Silver Gold

The OTHERS PRINCE WILLIAM (C.

Tulip-shaped purple flowers July to September

Silver

ANNABELLA

Nodding lilac Viorna shaped flowers July/September

Silver Gilt

‘Zo08171’)

(C. ‘Zo08169’)

These are all plants which we have trialled extensively on the Nursery and which many 69

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DARCY

NUBIA

BECCA

MANDY

of our customers have taken home with them. We get a lot of feedback from customers – we always invite customers to come back to us with their comments and thoughts about our plants. This is just one sample listing – we have records of dozens of plants going back over the years. ‘Taiga’ The thing to bear in mind is ‘new doesn’t necessarily mean better’ because until it is properly tried and tested, we just don’t really know how any new plant will 70

The Clematis 2019 perform in garden conditions. Most of them do very well but others make you wonder why they are on sale! We sometimes think that plants are introduced into the trade

LITTLE LEMONS

without trials having been conducted at all! WHITE ARABELLA

From Marcel and ‘team Floyd’: ‘bye for now!’ 71

As to the future, here are some we would recommend you to look out for, next year: ANSLEY (C. ‘Evipo103’); BECCA (C. ‘Evipo104’); WHITE ARABELLA (C. ‘Zo14089’); LITTLE LEMONS (C. ‘Zo14100’); DARCY (C. ‘Evipo106’); BELLISSIMA (C. ‘Zo10075’). All images © Marcel Floyd

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Clematis SUMMER SNOW (‘Paul Farges’/‘Fargesioides’) Werner Stastny Sweden werner-stastny@tele2.se

t was in 1985 that I received my first printed issue of what would later become known as Clematis International – Raymond Evison had founded the International Clematis Society. He had tasked his greatest clematis friends from all over the world with the production of fascinating articles on the subject of Clematis. Among the respondents were contributors from Japan, Sweden, England, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and in due course many other countries. One particularly exciting article in the Spring 1985 issue was by Wilhelmine Riekstina, the great Latvian clematis breeder. Entitled The New Clematis Cultivars and Hybrids Bred in the Soviet Union, Wilhelmine provided a succint overview of the plethora of new plants raised up to the late ‘80s by ‘Soviet’ breeders. The article went on to list by name more than 120 clematis hybrids from the Baltics and the USSR, which were virutally unknown to the West at this time. It was here that I made my first acquaintance with Clematis ‘Fargesioides’ from the Crimea, Ukraine. The information was presented in a table headed The More Well-Known New Clematis Cultivars and Hybrids Bred in the Soviet Union Between 1958 and 1982. ‘Fargesioides’ was listed as a cross between Clematis fargesii (Clematis potanini) and Clematis vitalba. The table noted all the pertinent facts: breeders A.N. Volosenko-Valenis and M.A. Beskaravainaja; year of breeding 1964, typical height 5-7 meters, flowers 4,5 or 6 centimeters in diameter, with 4-6 sepals, light primrose 72

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yellow. In his monograpth The Genus Clematis Magnus Johnson writes “´Fargesioides´ (C. potanini Maxim. × C. vitalba L. = C. fargesii (Franch.) var. souliei Finet & Gagnepain × C. vitalba L.)”. If you want to read more about the naming of this hybrid see: The Genus Clematis page 453 and 454. This wonderful hybrid is now marketed under various names including ‘Paul Farges’ and SUMMER SNOW. The plant begins into growth very late on. Sometimes you can be convinced that it hasn’t survived the winter but then, all of a sudden, shoots delightedly appear and before too long they 73

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are growing and elongating rapidly, throwing off many pairs of leaves as new stems proliferate. The ravishing dense green foliage soon carpets the host plant or structure. The first clusters of pure white flowers appear around the early weeks of June (Stockholm area) and blooming lasts all the way through to mid-September. SUMMER SNOW is a very apt description. The abundant flowers remain completely white at all times and the plant maintains the perfect profusion of flowering throughout the whole season. The plant produces hardly 74

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The flowers

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In time, the plant develops woody lianes

any fertile seeds at all and this trait seems to confer the wonderful bonus of longevity in the individual flowers. SUMMER SNOW is ideal for the slightly larger garden. Over the course of just three or four years it will completely cover a dead tree up to a height of around five meters. When in flower on a solitary obelisk it resembles a white flowering shrub, but this plant blooms for at least ten weeks – there are no shrub-type plants with such a long and intensive flowering period! It is of course a different breed of plant altogether from the typical showy large-flowered hybrid clematis but this is no disadvantage. In Latvia I have seen the plant growing up to eight meters high into trees. The tree branches provide a framework on which the dense masses of flowers are draped, producing huge amounts of pollen and thereby attracting multitudes of pollinating bees and the like. In my plants, the dense foliage would also provide perfect hiding and nesting spots for birds. In Sweden the Highways Department uses SUMMER SNOW to conceal the wooden walls along the sides of the motorways. This converts ugly dark facades to bright green lanes covered, in the summer months, with clusters of soft white flowers. SUMMER SNOW is much more than a worthy alternative to Clematis vitalba. There are no invasive seedlings to worry about and the prolonged flowering period makes it a very special clematis. Once you have acquired a plant you will find that it is very easy indeed to propagate – either from hardwood (mainly) or from softwood cuttings. I highly recommend giving this wonderful plant a special place in your garden! Bibliography The Genus Clematis: Magnus Johnson: Magnus Johnsons Plantskola AB, Södertälje, 2001. ISBN 9789163110306 76

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Escargots, anyone?

C. montana var. grandiflora

Charlotte Wemyss UK charlottewemyss14@gmail.com

lematis were my passion, now I’m not quite so certain! I’m sure you’ll recall that in last year’s Journal I wrote about the dreaded ‘wilt’ and how I had never experienced the phenomenon beforehand; alas, this year has been even worse than last for this infuriating ‘disease’. ‘Louise Rowe’ did it again – she waited right until her buds were massive and about to explode, then seconds before she was due to bloom she collapsed totally, in a withered heap. So did I. It seems that ‘wilt’ has no real rhyme or reason, it just happens and always when you least expect it. Other victims were GREEN PASSION (C. ‘Zo11050’), ‘Maria Skłodowska Curie’, ‘Taiga’, JOSEPHINE (C. ‘Evijohill’), ‘Shikō’ – admittedly, all big fat juicy ones (and fortunately I have more than one each of these ‘hit varieties’). But several of the Viticellas also seem to have been victims: ‘Walenburg’ has disappeared altogether (having been stunning last year and flowering for three months), ‘M Koster’, ‘Mary Rose’, BOURBON (‘C. ‘Evipo018’) and…the list, alas is long. Finally, 77

Culprit?

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C. m. var. grandiflora and C. m. var. rubens ‘Pink Perfection’

‘Freda’ and ‘Giant Star’

BERNADINE (C. ‘Evipo061’), ‘HF Young’, ESME (C. ‘Evipo048’), and ‘Piilu’ were other

casualties this year, to name but a few. But note: we have many large walls here at Wemyss Castle – hence my passion for Clematis – but of course between all the bricks of the walls there are many tiny crevices,

Vince and Sylvia Denny’s ‘Blue Eclipse’

The Clematis 2019 and in the crevices live…the dreaded SNAILS! So, wilt or snails? I know it’s snails in most cases because Ive caught them in the act, but how to get rid of them before they start chewing? Any advice gratefully received. I took a bucket and started to pick the snails out of the wall crevices and after ten minutes I had well over a hundred – some only the size of half my little fingernail. Indeed, I caught a big fat snail on the stem of BERNADINE, who was withered and dying....the plant, not the snail! I am somewhat disheartened by this turn of events. C. montana var. rubens ‘Tetrarose’ Several swear words have been uttered but it’s not all bad news on the Clematis front; my Montana collection thrived and was way better than last year. Vera’, ‘Primrose Star’, C. montana var. grandiflora, C. montana var. rubens ‘Pink Perfection’, C. montana var. rubens ‘Tetrarose’, ‘Broughton Star’, ‘Van Gogh’, C. montana var. wilsonii, ‘Mountain Glory’, ‘Marjorie’, ‘Elizabeth’, ‘Freda’ and my new Clematis williamsii all flowered their socks off and were a fantastic sight. Sadly, I seem to have lost ‘Jenny Keay’ forever, but there were many others that also performed beautifully, too numerous to mention them all. Vince and Sylvia Denny’s ‘Blue Eclipse’ was spectacular and so chic with the wonderful steel blue-grey flowers dripping over the walls, like a silk suit from Paris! To end on a cheerful note, the ones that really showed off were ‘Mazury’, ‘Rokko-Kolla’, ‘Perle d’Azur’, ‘Fujimusume’, FOREVER FRIENDS (C. ‘Zofofri’), ‘Beautiful Bride’, SEA BREEZE (C. ‘Zo09063’) and many others; the displays have been glorious and continue wonderful as I write. That’s gardening for you! The French, of course, eat snails....erm! Garlic...butter… …..well, I suppose I could....? 79

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Seeking Clematis flammula in Croatia Werner Stastny Sweden werner-stastny@tele2.se

ow that I no longer have a garden, my clematis focus tends more and more towards ‘the natives’. In May this year I had the good fortune to spend five days exploring the beautiful Istria peninsula of Croatia. I knew in advance that there are only two climbing endemic clematis, Clematis vitalba and Clematis flammula. C. vitalba is not difficult to find, it can often be spotted clambering high up into bushes and larger trees, and sometimes the thick, dark, bare lianes can be traced with the eye, running down to the ground from above. Ideal for any Tarzan happening across them! My problem was how to find the wild C. flammula. I had already planned to visit Istria two times, this year; this was the opening trip and the second was to be much later, well into summer. I therefore knew that on this particular excursion there would be no flowers to see. Further, because the stems frequently scramble at ground level or among the undergrowth, spotting the lianes and foliage would not be easy, either. A little more about my quarry, C. flammula. The species is native to a quite huge geographical area stretching from the Mediterranean to North Africa and as far east as Iran. Of course, in occupying such a huge range of territories, many variants (leaf size and shapes, flower size, flower density etc) of the basic form occur among the many

Spotting the foliage among the shrubs

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Typical C. flammula growth identified among the vegetation

populations. The growth habit of all forms, though, is similar – more sprawling than climbing. In the wild it is often seen in small clumps or growing through any other plants that happen to be conveniently nearby. If it meets the right local vegetation it will happily climb up to 15 feet (Magnus says that it can sometimes attain 30 feet, given the right location) though in the wild one usually notices it growing from the ground upwards to about three or four feet high. It will colonise open land or indeed any artificial or semi-natural habitats where it can become established. Hence, it is not uncommon to see it straggling along roadside verges, in grassy meadows, on steep hillsides or even on rocky outcrops, where the natural vegetation is sparse but where there are plenty of cracks to grow from. Mature lianes running up into the canopy

C. flammula copes incredibly well – to a far greater degree than many other plants – even in extreme drought. Thus it is an ever present summer and autumn attraction when growing and flowering in its natural state. 81

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Above, close up of foliage; below, flowering in the canopy

In the garden it is very adaptable. It will easily cover pergolas, arbours and other supporting garden contrivances yet can be kept well in check with judicious pruning. The desirability and appeal of this native can be gauged from the fact that is has been cultivated in England since at least the 1590s. There are two outstanding features: the billowing superabundant masses of pure white flowers which always take the eye by storm, and the superb fragrance. This clematis is famous for its perfume – variously described as ‘sweet scented’, ‘like almonds’ ‘Meadowsweet’ or ‘Hawthorn’. Christopher Grey-Wilson, writing in Clematis the Genus puts it perfectly: ‘the smell invades every corner of the garden on a warm late summer’s evening, both enticing and intoxicating’. This priceless trait extends into some of the cultivars, too; well-known Clematis × triternata ‘Rubromarginata’, ‘Aromatica’ and the more recent superb PRETTY IN BLUE (C. ‘Zopre’) and wonderful ‘Sweet Summer Love’ all bring wondrous fragrance to your gardening life. As we travelled the gloriously scenic roads we pulled in wherever we could find any rest areas. At various places along the coast Annika and I paused and stared at and into banks of dense vegetation of mainly bushes and small trees. Then, at a certain place, 82

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Annika called me. ‘Look here, this must be what we are searching for’. We had happened across a mass of clumps of small stems and fresh green leaves typical of C. flammula. However, the relative distance meant that it was still quite difficult to get any decent photos. As can be seen, when the plant is out of flower the views are not overly impressive. But at least we knew a little more about what to look out for on our next visit, due later in the year. We returned to Croatia in the late summer; this time, however, I knew for certain that the C. flammula would be in full bloom. It didn’t take long before we found what we were looking for. Even before we had left the main road from Rijeka Airport (on the island of Krk) we were soon able to spot flowering plants. It is always staggering to see the plants 85

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Distribution in Europe & Asia: The Genus Clematis: courtesy of Karin Sundström

producing fabulous growth and enormous flowerings, despite the parched conditions. Compared with Clematis vitalba I would say that Clematis flammula is a far more elegant and attractive plant in its overall growth habit and appearance. Even in open fields, the plant always looks marvellous; the clouds of brilliant snowy flowers stand out in such lovely contrast to the green background. Clearly, this is a much underrated species which could be of huge value in many garden settings, so long as attention is given with regard to siting, irrigation and proper pruning. If you don’t know this plant, you are really missing out on an extremely beautiful, easy to grow and very rewarding clematis. The beauty of the innumerable simple flowers with their incredible density of whiteness, the hypnotic intoxicating fragrance – this is a plant that deserves to be much more widely recognised and appreciated. C. flammula showing leaflet, leaves and panicles of flowers. Courtesy of Karin Sundström

All images of C. flammula in flower © Massimo Mazzoni

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Clematis rehderiana Penelope S. Hellyer penelopehellyer@icloud.com

first came across Clematis rehderiana in the late 1980s or early ‘90s, when my husband and I were at the beginning of the restoration and replanting of the late Arthur Hellyer’s garden. Because the garden at Orchards was essentially a wild garden this rough nettle-like leaved clematis would fit in well. I planted my specimen – bought, if my memory serves me well, at a small nursery attached to a fine country house we were visiting in Somerset. Its rough-textured leaves charmed me. So often in my purchases I would choose foliage shape, colour and texture over the flowers. I planted it with its roots in the shade of an ancient wisteria planted by my father in the late 1940s or early ‘50s. The clematis was encouraged to grow up and through the many wisteria trails until it sunbathed happily across the mole-grey cedar shingle roofing. The tiny creamy-yellow bells, reflexed at the tips to show the greenish-brown anthers, further delighted when the sweet fragrance – some say the scent of cowslips – would flow in through the open bedroom window. I have rarely come across it in nurseries – there are only seventeen suppliers in the current RHS Plantfinder as opposed to twenty-four in the 2014 edition that I have on my shelf. Imagine my delight when I bought a small amount of seed at the HPS Annual Lecture Day held at the Norfolk & Suffolk Group meeting in March 2017, where I had been invited as the daughter of a founding member. It may not be a plant for gardens with limited space, but with judicial pruning you can still enjoy its rampant growth by hard pruning each year or if you have an arch or an arbour it is an ideal deciduous choice as the nodding flowers held in clusters are sweetly scented. It likes its roots in the shade and its head in the sun as do most clematis. It dislikes too dry or too wet soil, yet if too dry and the leaves begin to wither and curl a 87

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good watering soon brings relief to the fibrous root system. It is a great choice for the late summer/autumn; the flowers can be borne up to a height of 10-20 feet once the plant is

mature, but apart from the wonderful perfume it is loved by bees and butterflies, making it an essential plant for the garden. Images ©Penelope Hellyer except final image ©Ton Hannink 88

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My Pride and Joy – Clematis uncinata Denise MacDonald amacdo0530@ntlworld.com

t was while on a BCS visit to Great Dixter in 2007 – a heavenly fragrance drew us around the corner of the house, where we found a wonderful clematis soaring up the wall, in full flower. It was a fine specimen of Clematis uncinata. Several of our entourage could not resist purchasing plants from the Great Dixter nursery as soon as they discovered that C. uncinata was available. Back home, my plant was lodged on the south-west facing wall of our house and I enjoyed many years of that wonderful late summer perfume. (There are various descriptions of the fragrance in the literature, however the RHS International Clematis Register and Checklist describes it as being evocative of ‘Eau-de-Cologne’.) Now, the train line to Victoria runs alongside our house and at some point in time British Rail decided in their wisdom that they would cut My glorious C. uncinata in full bloom 89

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C. uncinata

back all the trees and shrubs bordering the embankments. After all, they wouldn’t want the ‘wrong type of leaves’ on the line, would they? This proved to be rather detrimental in that the loss of bushes and tree growth immediately removed the dense vegetative barrier that had hitherto prevented the wind from blowing directly across my garden! It triggered a kind of ‘wind-tunnel’ effect in that area and the chilly winter winds now blow over the embankment and right across my patch – killing off a number of my more tender plants, including my beloved C. uncinata! As luck would have it, however, several seedlings have popped up since the plant’s demise and I now have one young plant which is particularly strong and healthy looking – good enough, in fact, to be planted out soon (fingers crossed). There have been a number of seedlings coming through since, 90

The Clematis 2019 so I have a few more in reserve, being nursed along. The photos of the seedlings here were taken in the greenhouse but they actually live in their pots outside, all year round.) Clematis uncinata is an evergreen plant but sadly it is not fully hardy in the UK – its general tenderness necessitates a more sheltered, slightly warmer position but given this it can succeed quite well. In the wild it can reach around 10 meters or more but my plant here in the garden in southern England would generally reach about 5 meters. An ideal planting place would be near bushes or small trees, into which it can ramble and drape its stems, and thereby show itself off to its finest. The attractive leaves are oblong to lanceolate, thin, papery and glaucous on the undersides, and the petioles are twining. But what is most important and striking about this plant is the enormously rich display of the creamy white starry flowers, bearing bright yellow anthers, exuding that hypnotic perfume which seems to flood out into all the air around the plant. It will be a poignant moment when Distribution of C. uncinata (Courtesy Karin the first seedling finally flowers, bringing Sundström/The Genus Clematis forth that cherished C. uncinata fragrance to impinge once more on my impatient senses. 91

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Making sense of Clematis pitcheri Gary W. Vann USA garywvann@gmail.com Introduction In subgroup Viorna, many vining species have been difficult to fully understand due to the extent of the variations in both flowers and foliage. In Clematis pitcheri, many flowers appear to be similar while others are very different. Viorna Group gardeners and others have been aware of the morphological differences for years. It was broadly assumed that these differences simply represented the exhibited range of variations from the norm. Whether a species or variety of a species exists is dependent on many factors and is not solely dependent upon gross and anatomic details. Demographics Clematis pitcheri is endemic to an unusually wide north-south area extending from northern Illinois to southern Texas. The original 1838 description of C. pitcheri was derived from specimens collected by Dr. Pitcher & T. Nuttall, during their trip along the Red River (1). This river flows easterly between Oklahoma and Texas, before heading southeast to join the Mississippi River. By chance, the original herbarium specimens approximate a mid-point in this wide range. These early flowers were described as having purple sepals and the species was commonly known as ‘Pitcher's Leatherflower’. No artist drawings were submitted in support of the specimens. The foliage was described in the usual fashion of the day but no mention was made of the underneath colour of the reflexed sepals. Over the years, herbarium specimens have accumulated from both the north and the south and many images have been obtained, showing flowers with significant differences in both form and colour. Bonap Map of C. pitcheri distribution, 2014. Herbarium specimens from the past are remarkably limited in value, not only in what is presented but also in descriptive information regarding form, colour and many finer details. Nowadays, herbarium specimens are handled very differently in order to avoid some of these problems. 92

The Clematis 2019 There has always been a need to examine field specimens in large numbers but these are often logistically difficult to cover during a season. During the past decade, demographics have changed significantly, as greater information is now available from digital images captured by biologists and naturalists in the field. These specimens have rapidly accumulated in computerised data resources. Photographic colour data captured by amateurs can be limited by technical factors and this must be taken into consideration. Methods In an effort to better understand C. pitcheri flowers over a wide distribution, detailed examination of digital photos recorded by amateur naturalists was undertaken, County by County. These were available from iNaturalist, an on-line data resource, and used for this study. Specimens with borderline or inadequate images were excluded. No efforts were made to characterize foliage, which is known to be variable and difficult to evaluate on images from the field. Specimens from southwest Texas, which include C. pitcheri var dictyota, were excluded. A few scattered specimens elsewhere were excluded because of insufficient data. Results – Demographics and Numbers Approximately 300 Texas specimens and roughly twenty specimens from states to the northeast were examined. The difference in numbers was initially surprising. There were greater numbers around major population centers in Texas and generally low numbers in the Texas far north. It was interesting that sixteen counties had C. pitcheri data recorded on iNaturalist that are not currently listed on Bonap maps. This is an indication of how rapidly data is accumulating in this electronic age. Results – Plant Morphology In Texas, most C. pitcheri flowers had light to medium purple colour on the sepal exterior. In the remainder, the flowers were light red or light purple-red (magenta). Colour at the base was often slightly lighter but never darker. While the outside colours vary somewhat, virtually all of them had deep mono purple or red colour inside. This inside or underneath colour was a hallmark finding. To the north of Texas, virtually all of the flowers were two-toned light blue shading to cream colour on the outside, with creamy-white sepals inside. This two-toned flower is similar to Clematis versicolor, which lies along a similarly hilly east-west latitude but is absent in counties west of the Mississippi River Valley. C. versicolor, east of the Mississippi, is also present in relatively low numbers. To the south, C. pitcheri flowers comprise variable urn shapes with fine ribs on the sepals, the lower part of the sepals being either narrowly or widely reflexed. Widely reflexed sepals may be rolled up and may have minor crispate (wavy) edges. Interestingly, somewhat similar rolled and crispate edges are also hallmark traits of Clematis crispa. The length of the bells can vary slightly even in flowers on the same plant. Also, there was a tall, slender form, usually in red and having a more tubular shape, almost always 93

The Clematis 2019 with narrowly reflexed sepals. This tall form was very uncommon. To the north, flowers are urn shaped, generally smaller, ribbed with a smooth base. Sepal tips were narrow, only slightly reflexed and never rolled or crispate. In this C. pitcheri of the north the flower was much less variable in form.

Pitcheri-south (Texas) form: Image ©Jcentavo Pitcheri-south (Texas) form: Image ©Coeller

Pitcheri-north form: Image ©Plantcollector

Pitcheri-north form: Image ©Eric Hunt

In no case were any pitcheri-north flowers found to the south in Texas. Typical pitcherisouth flowers were found in two cases in southern Oklahoma, not far from the Red River; pitcheri-south flowers were found in two cases reported in Kansas, well to the northwest. Another specimen in eastern Oklahoma was a hybrid variant, with intermediate traits of C. pitcheri and C. versicolor, as discussed below. 94

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Pitcheri –Versicolor hybrid The pitcheri-south flowers never have deeper colour at the base and this two-tone blue to cream colour is consistent with C. versicolor. The size and form of this flower, with purple

Long tubular variation of Pitcheri-south (Texas) form: Image ©Romeyswanson

reflexed sepals are typical of pitcheri-south. A major difference was the underside colour centrally; with cream present when oblique images were enlarged for closer observation. More than one colour (bi-colours) were never found in any of the pitcheri-south specimens. Thus, this flower shows form and colour traits typical of a hybrid, occurring in an area of overlapping demographics. When doing selective hybridization, traits may blend to a variable extent for flowers and foliage and other things, including seedheads and habits. For example, in a cross of C. crispa × C. texensis the F1 progeny were a pink form of C. crispa. While the parents have different foliage – green versus glaucous – the progeny have hybrid green C. crispa 95

The Clematis 2019 foliage, with form characteristics of C. texensis, including prehensile tendrils. Generally, in terms of foliage, green prevails over glaucous. Summary

Pitcheri × Versicolor hybrid or variant. Image ©JDMcCoy

There are three major criteria that help to separate C. pitcheri into the two forms described above. First, the pitcheri-south form is restricted to Texas, except for a few specimens in southern Oklahoma and Kansas. No pitcheri-north specimens were found in Texas. Second, the form and colours of pitcheri-south flowers are completely different in every way compared to those of pitcherinorth. The hallmark of pitcherisouth flowers are deep mono

purple or red colour on the sepal undersides in all of them. Virtually all of the pitcherinorth flowers have two-tone blue to cream colour outside and cream colour inside. Third, the numbers of C. pitcheri to the south are much greater than those to the north in a ratio of approximately 15 to 1. An unusual specimen was found in eastern Oklahoma, believed to be a hybrid of C. pitcheri and C. versicolor. This will be a subject for further study. In addition to the above, there are some minor differences between pitcheri-north and those to the far north in Illinois, not discussed here. For my own convenience, I have long referred to species C. pitcheri as pitcheri-south and pitcheri-north. Whether pitcheri-north represents a separate species or a western variant of C. versicolor is also a matter for further study. (1) J. Torrey & A. Gray, Flora of North America 1:10 1838

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Demographics of Texensis Types Gary W. Vann USA garywvann@gmail.com Introduction

lematis texensis (common name ‘Scarlet Leatherflower’) was originally described by Professor S.B. Buckley in 1861, referring to plants found along the Colorado River above Austin, Texas. C. texensis is endemic to the Edwards Plateau, the eastern part of which is known locally as the Texas Hill Country. Geologically, this area of higher ground was formed as a result of the gradual uplifting of a region of marine sedimentary rock, over millions of years, by plate tectonics. Demographics, in this context, is the study of plant populations. Just a dozen years ago C. texensis was known in only eight counties of mid Texas; nowadays it is listed in twenty-two counties. This remarkable change in recorded demographics has occurred largely because biologists and naturalists have been steadily submitting to on-line data repositories growing numbers of digital images of plants encountered in the field. C. texensis bears tubular shaped flowers of variable length, generally presented as semi-drooping bells, amidst relatively modest sized glaucous ovate foliage. It has bright scarlet flowers with slightly reflexed sepals. We have known for a long time that some flowers have a white interior while others are red – the interior colour was unspecified in the original description. The demographics of these colour variations is interesting and, to my knowledge, has not as yet been concisely described in the scientific literature. Naturalists working in the field often find C. texensis along creeks and rivers, especially in lower lying areas where water can collect and persist during dryer times. Method In order to estimate the relative proportions of the range of the interior colour in greater detail, a review was made of specimens recorded by amateur naturalists from fourteen counties in mid Texas. Digital photographs of field specimens were captured and entered into iNaturalist (an on-line data resource). Of these images, seventy-nine were found to be sufficiently detailed to review the interior colours. Results In C. texensis the red interior is easily differentiated from the white. In most of those with white inside, the colour is very close to true white, but some were cream, usually with pink toward the periphery. After examining all these specimens, those with creamy/inbetween colours were included in an ‘intermediate’ group. 97

The Clematis 2019 No effort was made to differentiate short from longer forms as true lateral images were not consistently available for accurate measurement. Following this review, the flowers were grouped into three types, as follows: Type 1: Red outside & white inside Type 2: Red outside & cream centrally with pink peripherally Type 3: Red outside & red inside

Type 1: Red outside with white inside

Image ©Rachelle Trollinger

Type 2: Red outside and cream centrally with pink peripherally Image ©Tanya Zastrow

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Type 3: Red outside and inside

Image ©Jason Penney

Type 3 was found predominantly in seven contiguous western counties. Several intermediate counties had intermediate type 2 and type 1 was found predominately in four eastern counties. Listing of types by County, West to East

County

Distributions recorded

Edwards Uvalde Real Kerr Bandera Bexar Kendall Comal Llano Blanco Hays Burnet Travis Williamson

1 type 3 2 type 3 5 type 3 1 type 3 13 type 3 & 3 type 2 1 type 3 2 type 3 1 type 3 & 1 type 2 1 type 3 1 type 3 & 2 type 1 2 type 2 & 1 type 1 13 type 1 6 type 3 & 6 type 2 & 15 type 1 2 type 1

Travis County, including the city of Austin, had greater numbers, in part because more naturalists have recorded data from this region of the State. This skews the numbers somewhat but does not affect the distribution of types. 99

The Clematis 2019 Counties in mid Texas showing the distribution of types 1, 2 and 3.

Reference SB Buckley, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 13:448, 1861

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BCS/US Viorna Group Research Project – Report 1: In pursuit of Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima, and C. pitcheri From Your Editor, Brian Collingwood

n last year’s edition of The Clematis we reported on BCS’s participation in an important new Clematis botanical research programme into the US Viorna Group. The fieldwork is being undertaken by botanist Dwayne Estes, a leading American authority on the Viorna Group, assisted by Dwayne’s graduate Botany students Zach Irick and Thomas Murphy. The research focuses on potential new species of Clematis in recently-discovered plant populations. Fieldwork resumed in June 2019 when the team embarked on an expedition to the southwestern US to investigate the taxonomy of Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima, and C. pitcheri. The following is a summary of each botanical excursion including comments, observations and views expressed by the participants, providing interesting insight into investigative botanical fieldwork. For many years, our overall understanding of the Viorna Group has remained relatively static. Indeed, several species of the subgenus Viorna have been the subject of vagueness or confusion ever since their discovery. The clematis cited in this report, Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima, and C. pitcheri are amongst several species undergoing gradual taxonomic reappraisal. Although in some cases the plants were first described by the early botanists as long as a couple of centuries ago, many specimens collected since have proved difficult to assign to a particular species for one reason or another. It is widely suspected that some plants allocated to the above species (and others) may actually be new but as yet unrecognised entities, with features sufficiently unique as to be classable as new species in their own right. Time will tell. Two lines of investigation are gradually clarifying our view of the Viorna complex: new fieldwork (and herbarium study) and DNA analysis. Fieldwork gives vital first hand knowledge of how plants grow, the habitats they favour and anything else that can be measured physically, or photographed. DNA analysis looks under the surface, at the fundamentals – the genetic composition of plants – and permits hereditary relationships between species, and within families, to be postulated. Thus, the entire subgenus Viorna tribe is gradually being revised; in tandem with ongoing DNA studies new fieldwork will clarify not only our understanding of the individual species forms themselves but also help to shed light on the evolutionary pathways that have resulted in the range of species we recognise today. 101

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Expedition Route Key 1. CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST: BALSAM GLADE, TECOLOTE TRAILHEAD, SANDIA PARK, SANDIA MOUNTAINS 2. GUADALOUPE MOUNTAINS SITTING BULL FALLS, LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST 3. EL PASO 4. GILA NATIONAL FOREST 5. CARBONATE CREEK, BEAR MOUNTAIN 6. FLORIDA PEAK, ‘SKY ISLANDS’ 7. TUCSON, ARIZONA 8. MESA VERDE 9. SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST, TELLURIDE 10. JEMEZ NATIONAL FOREST/JEMEZ RIVER

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Exploring the Southwestern United States in Search of the Leather Flowers (Clematis subgenus Viorna): Expedition Accounts and Taxonomic Perspectives Thomas H. Murphy, Zach Irick, & L. Dwayne Estes Austin Peay State University, Centre of Excellence for Field Biology, Clarksville, Tennessee USA

n July 24th, 2019, we (Thomas Murphy, Zach Irick, and Dwayne Estes) embarked on an expedition to the southwestern US to investigate the taxonomy of Clematis bigelovii, C. hirsutissima, and C. pitcheri while travelling to and from the Botany 2019 meeting in Tucson, Arizona. While the herbarium of Austin Peay State University houses a large number of specimens (approximately 100,000 specimens and growing) most of the collections represent the flora of the southeastern US. Herbarium specimens from the southwestern US are therefore not common within the many cabinets of the APSU herbarium due to our regional focus. Our trip to the southwestern US served as the basis for a preliminary study of the taxonomy of Western US Clematis species. Field experience is invaluable to plant taxonomists, as it allows us to see characters such as flower colour, growth habit, and ecology, all of which cannot be preserved in a pressed specimen but are still imperative to a taxonomic study. This has been demonstrated by our current research of species complexes of Eastern North America. The purpose of this article is to give a detailed account of highlights from our trip to the southwestern US, as well as describe the preliminary findings and the potential for future taxonomic research. We also wanted to provide a glimpse into the many aspects of modern day botanical exploration and illustrate its importance for members of the British Clematis Society. We joked about how our adventure was somewhat like the 103

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Figure 1. Clematis bigelovii in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico

botanical equivalent of a tornado chase. In the central US, storm chasers will drive more than a few thousand miles in a matter of a few days to observe severe storms, hoping to glimpse a tornado. As they speed down backroads racing the fading daylight, they fuel themselves with a mix of coffee and carbs for sometimes fifteen hours at a time. That is about what we were doing in the search for Clematis. July 25th: Cibola National Forest arly in the morning on July 25th, we were off on our first quest to track down a population of C. bigelovii. Given that we were looking for a species we had never seen before in a region of the US that was completely unfamiliar to us, we knew the first sites would serve as a way to calibrate and hone our knowledge of suitable habitat. Fortunately, our previous work tracking down rare Clematis was helpful – we knew to look for open or marginal habitat, generally sloping, with vines growing from near the base of a tree or shrub. We first arrived at Balsam Glade in the Cibola National Forest, about an hour outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. After scouring all suitable habitats in the area with no success, we decided to drive a few miles back down the mountain to the Tecolote

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The Clematis 2019 Trailhead, which was documented to have a C. bigelovii population based on a nature blog post that a colleague had sent us prior to our trip. After walking for about 0.3 miles along the trail, Thomas spotted an aggregate of achenes, which appeared to be a Clematis, about ten feet downslope from the trail. Sure enough, this was our first encounter with C. bigelovii in the field (Fig. 1), but there were only two individuals. We hiked for about five more minutes down the trail and encountered a much larger population upslope – this time, many individuals were available for ethical sampling. Figure 2. Pink flower of Lobelia sp.

In the Guadalupe Mountains region

While on the trail, high on the side of the Sandia Mountains, Zach and Dwayne scouted ahead even further to see if they could locate flowering individuals, but to no avail. The two of them discussed how they were probably being watched by mountain lions (Puma concolor), a big cat species long since eliminated from much of the southeastern US. The feeling of botanizing, or herborizing as French botanist Andre Michaux called it in the 1780s, in a land with big carnivores definitely caused us to be a bit more careful as we worked. The next site in the area was a canyon located just west of Sandia Park, New Mexico. This record was recently observed on iNaturalist and was located off a trail that took us winding through the canyon. After hiking for thirty minutes, we checked our location on the GPS relative to the observation point and noticed that we were close. Using our knowledge of the habitat from the previous site, we scaled a rocky slope, only to come out on another trail, slightly higher in elevation. After examining the slope along the trail, we found a healthy population of C. bigelovii (Fig. 1). July 26th: Guadalupe Mountains After collecting in the mountains surrounding Albuquerque, New Mexico we cut southward towards the Guadalupe Mountains region, which straddles extreme southeastern New Mexico and adjacent western Texas, in the heart of the Chihuahuan Desert. The first stop in this area was Sitting Bull Falls, a beautiful waterfall found amongst extensive scrub desert. On this hot late July day, it was so refreshing to botanize in the midst of this gorgeous waterfall. 105

The Clematis 2019 The streambanks were lined with giant stands of native grasses and sedges and we found a beautiful pink-flowered Lobelia (Fig. 2) that still puzzles us to this day. Either it must be a strange form or perhaps a new species to science as it does not match any known species as far as we can tell. Using our intuition we climbed to the top of the waterfall (Fig. 3) and were quickly sidetracked by an inviting crystal clear pool of cold water about eight feet deep and the size of a small room. Dwayne could not resist diving headfirst into this proverbial desert oasis. After searching for about an hour with no success, we decided to try our luck at another nearby site, about an hour’s drive away along an extensive maze of gravel roads. Figure 3. Sitting Bull Falls in Lincoln National Forest

As we were driving down a forest service road at about twenty miles per hour, Zach somehow spotted a vining Clematis pitcheri var. dictyota, growing from the base of a shrub – pattern recognition skills at their finest! Only two plants were present so we took pictures and kept driving to our destination. Upon arrival at the target locality, the landscape of which to us looked like something we would imagine seeing in the Kimberly Region of Western Australia, we searched the banks of a dry creek bed, lined with limestone bedrock. We successfully located a population of many individuals, most of which were growing in the harsh habitat of shallow soils or out of the cracks of limestone (Fig. 4). We suspect this is why few individual vines were reproductive, as this greatly limits water holding capacity. Whether this variety is distinct enough to be recognized as a separate species is still unknown and deserves to be investigated. After collecting, we packed up and drove west, arriving at El Paso in Texas, late into the night, to rest up, after catching a late taco dinner at a roadside taqueria. The Guadalupe Mountains are indescribably beautiful and rugged. The sunset was incredible, the abundance of various types of thorny or prickly desert shrubs contrasted with vast expanses of boulder-filled landscapes, a stark contrast to the comparatively lush vegetation back east. Distinctive plants of the Chihuahuan Desert included multiple species of prickly pear and barrel cacti, Yucca, Agave, Nolina, numerous shrubs of the 106

The Clematis 2019 the pea family formerly grouped with acacias, and scattered junipers, oaks, and sometimes pine. Fig 4: Clematis pitcheri var. dictyota, in the Lincoln National Forest

One of the neatest plants we saw was the ocotillo. It seems that nearly everything in this region is spiny, yet still Dwayne insisted on wearing his new Chacos. Hopping from rock to rock, avoiding the dagger-like leaves of the Dasylirion and the glochids of prickly pear, we all realized that under almost any bush or boulder could be one of several species of venomous snake, for that region of the Southwest is home to numerous species of rattlesnakes. July 27th: Gila National Forest The first site within the Gila National Forest area was along Carbonate Creek near Hillsboro, New Mexico. As we drove between mountains on the windy forest service roads, we noticed an oncoming lightning storm in the distance. With much of the American west going up in flames, it was easy to imagine how rapidly a lightning fire would spread in the dry, open woodlands with dense understory vegetation. We saw numerous interesting species in the area such as Quercus hypoleucoides, Juglans major, and numerous species from the hyper-diverse genus Eriogonum. Upon arrival at the destination, we quickly located the population. Dwayne immediately noticed a unique morphology to the plants in this population. The leaves were glaucous, which means to be covered in a greyish blue waxy coating – this is often a character that separates other species of Clematis (Fig. 5). We also noticed the achene tail hairs to be more appressed, resembling C. pitcheri more than the previous encountered populations of C. bigelovii. This 107

The Clematis 2019 would later be realized to match the concept of C. palmeri, as described by Joseph Nelson Rose in 1891, which is further discussed below. We got back into the car and pressed our collections as we drove to the next site. The final site to visit for the day was based on a herbarium specimen collected in the 1980s, near Bear Mountain, just northwest of Silver City, where several mines are located due to the copper deposits discovered here in the 1800s. We drove directly to the coordinates listed on the herbarium specimen and quickly realized that the habitat was too flat and juniperdominated to be suitable for C. bigelovii. With the sun setting quickly, we decided to drive farther down the road towards Bear Mountain, where we knew we could find more slopes with a higher probability of finding Clematis. As we entered the foothills of Bear Mountain, we found slopes with several associated species that we saw earlier in the day near Carbonate Creek. We parked the car and scattered to cover the most ground possible. It’s funny looking back, how we just naturally fanned out without having to verbally coordinate; we worked well as a team. Figure 5. Clematis from Gila National Forest. This is currently called C. bigelovii but would fit Erickson’s concept of C. palmeri As daylight disappeared, Thomas noticed some vegetative Clematis and yelled out to Dwayne and Zach to come see and help search for more in the immediate vicinity. Several fruiting individuals were found growing on rocky, shrub-strewn slopes above a dry creek bed. Just below the plants was the recently discarded hide of an elk! Again, the distinct morphology better matched what was seen earlier that day, what Erickson (1943) would have called C. palmeri. As taxonomists, it was difficult for us to contain our excitement when we found these morphological distinctions to correlate with geography. It would be premature to draw any conclusions currently so we have formed hypotheses pertaining to the taxonomy of this group that are in need of testing. While discussing these matters we drove towards Tucson, Arizona late into the night and found a hotel about an hour away from the conference centre for the Botany Meeting. 108

The Clematis 2019 July 28th: Florida Peak As we arrived to the conference in Tucson, Arizona early in the morning, we realized that there was extra time to keep hunting down Clematis. As we stopped for yet another meal of delicious breakfast burritos, just like every morning for the past four days, we searched online for herbarium specimens collected in the area. Compared to just a couple of years ago, botanists now have access to a wealth of data that has come online in the form of digitized and imaged herbarium specimen records. We found a record with decent locality data, collected in 1925 around Florida Peak, labelled as C. bigelovii – no specimens had been collected since. We decided to try our chances at using this locality to find a population. We drove south from Tucson and entered the Santa Rita Mountains. These mountains are unique because they are the only place in the US where jaguars are still found. A big cat named ‘El Jefe’ (‘The Boss’) has been caught on game cameras, stalking these mountains. Figure 4. Dwayne holding Dasylirion sp. leaf and inflorescence, which would later coat the inside of our vehicle with pollen

At the Florida Peak trailhead, we started hiking up a canyon that quickly ascended the north slope of Florida Peak. To the north and just a bit northeast of Tucson is another isolated range of mountains, separated from those we were on by extensive desert flats, some that were once lakes covering thousands of square miles during the Ice Age 18,000 years ago. These mountains are called ‘sky islands’ because they are home to relict populations of plants and animals that are now isolated on these upper slopes and summits, such as the red squirrel. They were once connected during cooler past climatic times but have since become isolated and in some cases genetically distinct. Considering the paleoecology of this region, it raises some important questions about Clematis evolution and makes us wonder about whether populations that are now isolated on different mountain ranges are incipient species that have gone undetected. Further research is needed to answer this question. The dry heat was intense, but nothing like it could have been, for the area is known to have temperatures that can regularly reach into the 110ºs for a month at a time. Fortunately, we had stocked up on water and more breakfast burritos before our hike. As we embarked on our hike the first thing we noticed was that we were walking along a creek bed that seemed to be somewhat protected by shrubs and small trees – 109

The Clematis 2019 perfect habitat to find Clematis. After hiking for about an hour, scouring all potential habitats, we started to ascend in elevation. Common plants in the area included Quercus rugosa, Platanus arizonica, Dasylirion spp. and Vitis arizonica (Fig. 6). We had hoped that the trail would again descend into the canyon for more suitable habitat. Figure 5. A. Zach Irick presenting during a poster session. B. Thomas giving an oral presentation. C. Carnegiea gigantea, or saguaro cactus, growing in the Tucson area

With no success at this site, we hiked back down into the canyon and returned to our vehicle. Additionally, the heat was beginning to wear on us and Dwayne reminded us to drink frequently to avoid dehydration. It was then that we realized we had left two extra litres of water back in the car. Needing to push on in search of C. bigelovii, but not having enough water, we decided to keep climbing just a bit more. Dwayne split his water with Thomas and Zach. We climbed higher and higher on the mountainside. At each turn we said, ‘ok we’ll go to point X and if we haven’t found it, we’ll turn around’ only to keep pushing on. Finally, we realized we must turn back. We grasped upon getting back to the vehicle, completely out of water, that it would not take much to get into a bad situation, if we had been unable to return to the car when we did. As we drove to the conference hotel, we discussed why we could not locate this historic collection, in spite of being confident we were in the right place. One answer to this is that this species is rare in the area and we simply were unsuccessful at relocating it. Another possible answer is that this would be one of the southernmost populations of C. bigelovii (or C. palmeri, if it is a distinct species), so slight shifts in climate could cause these peripheral and thus vulnerable populations to disappear, especially given its apparent preference for inhabiting somewhat protected ravines with partial shade provided by groves of oak. Under increasingly arid conditions, those oak groves could shrink, resulting in less niche availability to C. bigelovii and other species that need some degree of shade and protection. While travelling back into Tucson to spend four days presenting our research on the C. viorna and C. reticulata species complexes, we contemplated possible explanations to this question. 110

The Clematis 2019 July 28th- 31st: The Botany 2019 Conference, Tucson, Arizona The following four days were spent at the Botany 2019 conference in Tucson, Arizona, which was surrounded by a beautiful desert landscape filled with saguaro cactus, Carnegiea gigantea (Fig. 7C). Zach presented a poster (Fig. 7A) and Thomas gave a fifteen minute oral presentation (Fig. 7B) on their respective Clematis research. This offered an opportunity to discuss our research with several prominent botanists from around the world, which led to the generation of several new ideas for methodology and hypotheses on speciation and biogeography of Clematis. August 1st: Mesa Verde National Park and San Juan National Forest After attending the Botany 2019 conference in Tucson, AZ, we drove northeast through eastern Arizona on our way to southern Colorado and northern New Mexico with the goal of visiting at least one population of C. hirsutissima. We were in total awe of the landscape we witnessed during our drive, especially around the Salt River, just north of Tucson (Fig. 8). Unfortunately, we had to bypass Grand Canyon National Park for the sake of saving time and staying focused on the task at hand. Dwayne found a record of C. hirsutissima on iNaturalist at Mesa Verde National Park. This park is known for its Anasazi ruins, which at one time was inhabited by some 30,000 Puebloans. In spite of looking at some promising habitats, we could not find any plants and moved on to the next potential site. Figure 6. Landscape picture of the canyons and mountains of the Salt River in Arizona

Leaving Mesa Verde, Zach connected to Dwayne’s internet hotspot (another luxury of 21st century that past generations didn’t have) and examined herbarium specimen images online, and found one collected recently just outside of Telluride, Colorado. Our map directions took us down a dirt road for several minutes, where we expected the population to be located in a sub-alpine meadow. However, the landscape along the service road was relatively flat and was not changing as we approached the GPS coordinate. Thomas spotted the conspicuous aggregate of fruits just five feet off the road. 111

The Clematis 2019 Upon examination of this population, we noticed how little pubescence there was on the plants, and how wide the leaflets were. This morphology seemed to match that of C. hirsutissima var. scottii (Fig. 9). August 2nd: Jemez River As our expedition began to wind down, we checked iNaturalist for Clematis populations in the Jemez National Forest area of New Mexico, which were on our way back to Albuquerque. Figure 7. Clematis hirsutissima var. scottii in the San Juan National Forest

One labelled as C. hirsutissima but which appeared to be C. bigelovii stood out as an easy to access population. As we drove up the road, we realized this observation was made at a children’s summer camp. We parked at the front office and found the director of the camp, who actually made the iNaturalist record and was more than happy to let us collect. We walked for about two minutes down a path and there it was, growing amongst a grove of Quercus gambellii. The camp director was excited to hear about our Clematis research. As we finished collecting and taking down notes, we thanked him for his generosity. This was our last site before our flight the next morning, but we were far from finished; we still had to pack our pressed specimens in boxes to ship to APSU, and reorganize our equipment. Conclusion Overall, we relocated numerous Clematis populations in the states of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado to study in situ, voucher for herbarium study, and sampled entire transplants for common garden study. As we conclude our research with the C. viorna and C. reticulata species complexes, we plan to thoroughly investigate the C. bigelovii complex by examining and quantifying morphology for comparison to determine if C. palmeri needs to be resurrected as a distinct species. Perhaps there are other cryptic new species awaiting discovery in the Sky 112

The Clematis 2019 Island region of the American Southwest. By visiting populations in situ, we now have a much better understanding of ecology, habitat, and growth habit. This furthers our ability to interpret herbarium specimens in which these characters are obscured due to pressing and drying. However, we also were struck at how, even after ten days, sites that seemed to offer perfectly suitable habitat did not have plants. More work is needed to familiarize ourselves with this elusive group. We are thankful and greatly appreciative for funds provided by the British Clematis Society, as this trip has provided an opportunity to further the much needed taxonomic research of the North American subgenus Viorna, building on our past two years of study funded by the Mt. Cuba Centre in Delaware. As a result, we are several steps closer to solving the many vexing and long-standing mysteries within the North American leather flowers, which ultimately affects our perceptions of these plants in the context of biodiversity, ecology, biogeography, and horticulture. Without this support, this taxonomic confusion would continue to be lost in time. About the Authors Thomas Murphy is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and is from Louisville, Kentucky. He is supported by a Mt. Cuba Centre Graduate Fellowship in Eastern North American Botany. His interests include systematics of Clematis and Amorpha, biodiversity, biogeography, and horticulture. He is currently applying for Ph.D programs and is pursuing a career in plant systematics research. He anticipates graduating from Centre of Excellence for Field Biology at APSU in May 2020. Zach Irick is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, supported by a Mt. Cuba Centre Graduate Fellowship in Eastern North American Botany. His interests include taxonomy, floristics, and ecology. He now works full time for the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative as regional coordinator of the Southern Appalachians region and will graduate with his M.S. in Biology from the Centre of Excellence for Field Biology at APSU in May 2020. Dwayne Estes, Ph.D is full professor of the Biology Department, principal investigator in the Centre of Excellence for Field Biology, director of the herbarium, and executive director of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative. He serves as major professor to Zach and Thomas. His interests include the flora and vegetation of the southeastern US, description of new species to science, and conservation of grassland ecosystems. Literature Cited Erickson, R. O. 1943. Taxonomy of Clematis Section Viorna. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 30 (1): 1- 60.

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NATIONAL COLLECTIONS

‘Andromeda’

Richard Hodson UK richardhodson321@gmail.com

ust over thirty years ago, from a pasture on reclaimed marshland on the west coast of Lancashire, we started to build the gardens at The Hawthornes. After putting up the perimeter trellis fencing, the borders and island beds were at last ready for planting up. Soon after that, we began touring the local plant nurseries regularly at weekends, collecting old fashioned shrub roses, hardy geraniums, phlox, penstemons, aconitums and so forth. After planting all our acquisitions the fences and walls looked very bare so we thought about adding a few clematis. Off we went one weekend to the nursery of Vince and Sylvia Denny at nearby Broughton, in Preston. That day changed my whole life. I was completely overwhelmed by the collection of plants and the enthusiasm of the owners. We came away with several plants – in addition Vince very kindly gave us several others for free – plus the all-important paper catalogue listing all their clematis. This was thumbed 114

The Clematis 2019

‘Arabella’

through regularly and ticks were put alongside the plants we wanted to get on the next visit; our visits turned into a regular trek! We also visited Barkers Clematis Nursery on the edge of the Lake District many times, from where yet more clematis were added to the garden. Several visits to nearby Caddick’s Clematis Nursery (Warrington) followed, for yet more goodies. At holiday times we would venture down to the Midlands calling at Burford House where the late, great John Treasure raised so many new clematis. I was incredibly fortunate to obtain a plant of (Viticella Group) ‘Burford Princess’ (above) from Burford in September 2003. After reading a few lines about the plant in John Howells’ 115

The Clematis 2019

‘Vince Denny’

book I contacted them and collected the plant early one Sunday morning. I then passed a rooted cutting on to the other Viticella Group National Collection holder, Charlie Pridham and between us we now have the plant rescued and available. In due course I acquired a paper catalogue ‘Burford Bell’

from Peveril Nursery in Devon, operated by a man named Barry Fretwell – this captured my imagination so much. I managed to acquire several Peveril cultivars, mainly by getting my sister to call in there whilst on holiday, with a shopping list from me! 116

The Clematis 2019 As I look back at these people and many other clematis breeders of that era such as Jim Fisk, Frank Watkinson, John Treasure, Ken Pyne and others, I have so, so much respect for the work they did. ‘Elvan’

Bear in mind there was no internet, no ‘look it up on Google’, no referring to the splendid Clematis on the Web and no internet sales. They all were amazing people, way ahead of their time. That is why I am a National Collection Holder for Clematis Groups Viticella, Viorna and Texensis: I strongly believe that it is vital that we keep the plants of these great

‘John Treasure’

‘North Star’

clematis breeders alive and available for the next generations. Could anyone imagine having no ‘Andromeda’, ‘Princess Diana’, ‘Burford Bell’, ‘Vince Denny’, ‘Arabella’, ‘Blue Eclipse’, ‘Broughton Star’, ‘John Treasure’, ‘Broughton Bride’, North Star’, ‘Vanessa’, ‘Fireworks’, ‘Pagoda’ and all the others? So many of the true classics of the clematis world, too numerous to list. It certainly does not bear thinking about!

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The Clematis 2019

RAISING NEW CLEMATIS CULTIVARS – MY EXPERIENCES Sue MacMahon USA suemacmahon111@gmail.com

t is often a gardener’s experience that love for certain plants and flowers tends to evolve over the years, sometimes leading in directions that could never have been anticipated. The past twenty years have been the most rewarding and interesting of all the years I’ve been gardening because of a new-found passion which I enjoy immensely – growing clematis from seed. Actually, my love for clematis began more than thirty-five years ago with the purchase of my very first plant, the well-known white, C. ‘Henryi’. To tell you the truth, although ‘Henryi’ is a long-standing favorite to many, I was quite appreciative but not so overly enamoured of the flowers. The poor thing struggled along in a state of neglect for about ten years, then passed away – peacefully, thank goodness! About three years later while strolling in the garden I noticed a strange new clematis, growing not too far from the original spot where the old ‘Henryi’ had grown. It had a charming flower with much more colour and pattern than that of ‘Henryi’. Realising that this could only have been a seedling derived from my original plant of ‘Henryi’, questions nagged at me for quite some time: ‘Why did this seedling’s flowers look so very different from its parent?’ ‘Was this a seedling by selfpollination or was it a ‘cross-pollination’ with another clematis?’ ‘How difficult would it be to raise my own clematis plants from seed?’ Though I tried on many occasions to learn My chance seedling of ‘Henryi’ more, it seemed almost impossible for me to find any books at all on the subject of raising clematis from seed and clematis hybridization; subsequently my interest was put on hold for a few years. I began collecting as many clematis as I could fit into my garden. Many clematis were still difficult to acquire in the US at that time and searching nurseries for them became a favorite hobby, which I really enjoyed. But it seemed that the more clematis I had, the 118

The Clematis 2019 more I wanted to grow my own hybrids. It was frustrating for me that I still hadn’t been able to find any information on this subject. Towards the end of the 90s computers had taken off like wildfire and the internet had become more and more popular, especially here in the US. The wealth of information one could find by perusing the ‘world wide web’ was simply astounding! I began searching for information on clematis and discovered a few new clematis-related internet sites where I could learn more about growing clematis from seed, directly from people who actually grew them. These sites were relatively new, since the internet was still in its infancy. One of these sites, which had started a few years before, called ‘Gardenbuddies’, had an interesting discussion forum devoted solely to clematis. Here, people from all over the world would come together to discuss everything involving clematis, from seed growing and hybridization, to clematis cultural problems and their treatment. Some of the regulars on the forum were experts (in my opinion) at growing from seed, although they mostly humbly insisted they were just amateurs. I was amazed at their collections and numerous pictures of clematis hybrids and species plants, which, I’ll admit, I never knew existed until viewing them for the first time on the internet clematis forum. The clematis knowledge of these people, their incredible pictures, their friendliness and the fact that I could ask numerous questions was extremely helpful to me. I ‘picked their brains’ frequently! This was not your average gardening forum at all! Brian Collingwood was generous enough to give me information and instructions, as well as sending me seed from various species and other clematis plants which were difficult for me to obtain in the States. His own educational website, called My second daughter of clematis ‘Prince Charles’

Clematis from Seed is devoted to raising new clematis from seed; an extraordinary tool for me as a beginner. With these step-by-step instructions and pictures I began to feel relatively sure that I too would be able to raise my own plants. Why not? I was eager and ready to get started. 119

The Clematis 2019 Gathering and Sowing the seed My first planting consisted mostly of open-pollinated large-flowered hybrids, collected and sent to me by Bill Bird, another clematis grower whom I had also met through the internet forum. Bill had been raising his own clematis seedlings for years and he had quite an extensive collection of named cultivars in his beautiful clematis gardens. He was kind enough to collect and send me the seed from a few of his most vigorous growers: C. ‘Lasurstern’ and C. ‘Prince Charles’, among others. Bill wanted me to have a good first experience at this and had selected seed from plants from which he personally had previously had good germination and growth results. In addition to setting the seeds provided by Bill, I also collected seed from my own clematis cultivars, hoping that it had been picked at the correct, ‘ripe’ stage. If I was wrong, and I had collected my seed too early, then at the very least I would still have Bill’s seed to fall back on. The soil I used for sowing was a rich mixture which I had made up myself, consisting of composted manure, loam, decomposed bark mulch and a few handfuls of bone meal. Bill had mentioned that any good mix would do, but I wanted the seeds to have lots of nutrients, just in case. I carefully labelled the six inch pots with the parent cultivar’s name, the date and the source of seed, using a permanent marker pen. In each pot I placed approximately fifteen to twenty seeds and carefully covered them with soil. I then moistened the pots thoroughly and drained them for a few hours, before putting them each into top-sealing plastic bags for the long wait. The bags would keep the seed-pots in perfect condition for a long period of time, whilst awaiting any germinations. I decided to use my cool basement to store all the seed pots, since cool temperatures are said to aid or speed clematis germination. Bill had warned me that it is quite possible to have some early germinators in any batch, even though most might take twelve to twenty-four months. The same seed doesn’t always germinate at the same rate! As the months passed, more people sent me seed and the collection of seed pots occupying the cellar steps began to grow larger. I must admit that I got a bit carried away in my enthusiasm and I was getting nervous about the extraordinary number of plants I might have, if all of these seeds were to germinate successfully! The problems would come later on, as all these seedlings grew. I knew I didn’t have enough room to grow so many seedlings indoors. I really had no clue as to what I would do about this yet, but I was doggedly determined to figure things out as I went along. ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’, as they say! First Germinations I had been anxiously checking the seed-pots on a weekly basis for several months, when one day to my great surprise I spotted my very first germinations! These were seeds from garden plants of C. ‘Asao’ and C. ‘Horn of Plenty’, taking 151 days. I was elated! The other pots began to germinate on almost a weekly basis after that. One by one I brought the pots upstairs from the basement and into the window light, removing them from their plastic bags. It was still much too cold to put them outdoors. By now, as well as seeds from large-flowered types I also had species seeds beginning to germinate. Before too long I had pots in front of every window in the house! 120

The Clematis 2019 Tiny Seedlings - Encountering Problems indoors We (I lived in Massachusetts at the time) were experiencing a typical cold, snowy winter and the heater was going full-blast indoors; conditions which can sometimes cause problems for seedlings. Disease and fungal problems can sometimes wipe out a whole pot of seedlings in just one day. Watering the seedlings can be a bit tricky. The dry heat combined with lack of air circulation is not friendly to tender seedlings, and, just as I had feared, they began to fall over, one by one. Damp-off disease had begun to affect many of the seedlings. I knew, however, that if I could just grow these seedlings to the ‘three to four leaves’ stage they would then outgrow their susceptibility to damp-off disease. I had to do something fast to save the remaining seedlings, so off to the store I went to find a good all-purpose fungicide which was safe to use on tender seedlings. As instructed I mixed a liquid fungicide at half strength and drenched the seedlings using a fine sprayer, twice weekly. This helped a lot but more died, obviously already infected. I was a bit heartbroken to lose so many seedlings after waiting months and months for their germination, but at least I was able to save one third of the plants – which was still a lot of plants! I steeled myself with the thought that this wasn’t too bad for a first try; also, I had without any doubt learned a great deal in the process. Truthfully, I was encouraged that I didn’t lose all of them, which might have been too heart-breaking after all this endeavour. Fertilizing and Care of the Seedlings After several months of growing indoors the plants reached the ‘three to six leaves’ stage and I was thrilled, mainly because I didn’t have to worry so much about damping-off disease. This was the point when I began a fertilizing regime consisting of a wellbalanced NPK 20-20-20 at half strength, once a week. The ‘three to six leaves stage’ is also the time to transplant the seedlings into individual pots. Repotting can be quite a task when you consider that each pot might contain six to fifteen seedlings! After mixing the new soil, every pot had to be labelled once again before planting each seedling. At this point I estimate that I had some 200250 seedlings! At first, clematis seedlings grow very slowly, putting most of their early energy into building a strong root system. Once the roots are able to sustain more substantial growth the plants generally ‘take off’ at a slightly faster rate. When the stronger growth period began, I switched to a liquid tomato food. This, I had heard, would encourage stronger plants. There are many ideas on fertilizer regimes for clematis seedlings; however this one worked well for me. I found that once beyond the stage of four to six leaves it is a good idea to prune the main stem. Seedlings respond by strengthening the growth below the pruning point, then quickly produce new shoots from the dormant buds in the axils of the leaves, thereby increasing the size of the plant. As winter progressed I became concerned about providing the correct lighting conditions. The window light was fine for the tiniest of new seedlings, but insufficient for the older seedlings. It would be a struggle to keep these plants alive until they could go outdoors in the spring. Some plants died back, only to re-emerge again several months later, usually with a slightly larger stem, which made me feel better. At least the 121

The Clematis 2019 roots were growing well. I had no choice but to watch this happen to most of the plants over winter. A couple of these plants never re-emerged and were lost. I comforted myself with the notion that these were probably weaker plants, anyway. When spring beckoned in April, the window light increased significantly to trigger growth at a faster pace and all the seedlings were soon looking better, in fact, much better! At this point, I knew that my plants had made it through the toughest part of their journey – getting through their first winter! I was more than anxious to get these plants outside as soon as the weather permitted. I speculated when this might be possible toward May 10 –15th. Spring Plans It was now time to think about the next stage and develop a good plan for the seedlings’ care outdoors, in the spring. Where would I decide to put the small pots outdoors? It had to be a place where I could have constant access, but also a place away from any direct hot sunshine. I asked my husband to build me a large shelf outside my kitchen window which would be used for the tiniest seedlings. I called this area, ‘the incubator’. Here, I could water the smallest babies easily and watch them carefully. The larger seedlings would be placed on our semi-shade patio until I could come up with a better idea. I was really getting worried about what to do with all these plants. By now there were more than 150 larger, more developed plants, and numerous smaller ones! Towards the end of April I began hardening off the fragile plants, setting them outside for brief spells when weather and temperature permitted. It was a big job taking the plants outdoors daily, then hauling them all back inside every evening, but obviously an important step in getting the plants toughened up a bit for their summer outdoors. On May 15th, when I gauged the plants sufficiently hardened off, it was time to leave them all outside for the summer. The plants flourished outdoors and grew well; however I was relatively sure that they’d need another year before I would see any first flowers. The Next Step - A plan for wintering the seedlings outdoors By September, with winter again looming, I had to get on with developing a plan for working out a place for the plants to spend the coming cold period. They’d be much too big to keep indoors again, especially since they’d be in much larger pots. There were almost a couple of hundred! One of the ideas I came up with was to buy a small PVC unheated greenhouse which would serve as a ‘cold shelter’ for the plants over winter – some protection would surely be needed. My hope was that at least two thirds of the seedlings would survive the winter this way. I decided to cover the pots with wood-bark mulch to retain the heat and moisture as best as possible. The idea sounded pretty good to me, so I ordered a greenhouse and erected it in the late September of that year. By October, all the plants were tucked carefully inside and covered with a six inch layer of bark-mulch. After the first hard frost I removed the dead leaves to help prevent disease. The hardest part of all this was waiting for months to see how many plants would survive the harsh winter and sprout again in the spring! In March 2004, with snow still 122

The Clematis 2019 on the ground, I decided to check on the plants inside the cold house to see if I could find any signs of life. I uncovered a few pots and looked closely – there were new sprouts developing on the old shoots of the larger plants and new growths popping up from the soil on the smaller plants. My plan had worked and I was absolutely thrilled! The following Spring With many plants having survived the long winter, it was time to re-pot all of them into larger pots and get ready for spring once again. Hopefully, some of the plants would have their first flowers by the summer of this year! By May 1st the job of re-potting was completed and each pot had bamboo stakes inserted for the plants to cling to. With so many plants, re-potting all of them was a very big job, taking me several weeks. The soil I used was again my own mixture, consisting of loam, compost, manure, a bit of bark mulch, gravel and a small amount of bone-meal. By this point, the seedlings looked much bigger and stronger. I had kept the newly potted plants in their PVC house during the early part of spring to give them all a head start. On May 15th the pots were removed from the greenhouse and were put out in the open air, lined up neatly in rows. During the following weeks, watching the plants climb up their stakes was nothing short of blissful. However, as happy as I was, I still hadn’t reached my goal, which was to see what the first flowers looked like. The waiting continued. First Flowers At Last! I had been expecting all the plants to bloom this summer but was terribly disappointed in some of the seedlings of the large-flowered (pruning group 2s) because there were no signs of buds at all, on any of them. Even worse, many of them seemed to suffer episodes of clematis ‘wilt’. I was extremely frustrated about this and was tempted to dispose of these types. I emailed Brian Collingwood about the problem and he convinced me not to do this. In time, he said, many of these young plants could well outgrow the problem. By mid-July, I had spotted buds on seven of the seedlings grown from seed labelled as C. ‘Prince Charles’! I can’t tell you how excited I was to see my first buds forming! It felt as if I had been waiting an eternity for these first flowers. Now, I was going to be able to see for myself the extraordinary differences in open-pollinated clematis seedlings grown from a single parent. I bought myself a new digital camera to capture detailed close-ups of the flowers as they opened. With this camera I could record every single flower in detail, to compare later. This would be such an amazing experience! On July 29th, just over two years since the seeds were planted, my first plant bloomed! It was a lovely Viticella-type plant with nodding, deep purple flowers. Each tepal had a brilliant white stripe on its back side! I thought it was beautiful, but so very different to its seed parent, C. ‘Prince Charles’. Possibly the seed parent had been pollinated by a nearby Viticella type clematis; or perhaps this was just a manifestation of the Viticella make-up in the genes of C. ‘Prince Charles’. It would be fascinating to see what the other six C. ‘Prince Charles’ seedlings’ flowers would look like! The second C. ‘Prince Charles’ seedling bloomed a few days later. This seedling's flowers simply took my breath away! They were a beautiful sky-blue similar to C. ‘Prince 123

The Clematis 2019 Charles’ and these flowers, also, typified their Viticella nature! The flowers were in fact larger than the usual Viticella-types and were semi-nodding, with four tepals. This plant produces an abundance of buds. What a stunning plant! This plant remains my absolute favorite of all the plants I have raised from seed. It has grown into an amazing specimen in the garden. All seven of the C. ‘Prince Charles’ seedlings bloomed by late August. Every plant in this batch was different, but all seemed to show at least some Viticella traits in their appearance, as can be seen from the following four images:

Different blooms from the same seed batch – fascinating results

Getting the plants into the ground before winter In the future I plan to raise another group of seedlings of C. ‘Prince Charles’ using seed from my very own plant, so that I can compare the results with this very first batch of germinations. How might they differ from these? Will my plant self-pollinate or will some of the flowers receive pollen from other plants in the garden? It will be incredibly interesting to undertake such a comparison, once I have the results and good pictures. 124

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My seedlings fill the entire growing-area!

Now that the seedlings’ first summer outdoors was coming to a close it was time to get them all into the open ground before winter arrived. It was my belief that most of the others (those seedlings from the larger-flowered pruning-group 2 type plants) would surely bloom the following summer, if they could establish themselves properly in the ground. I had prepared the soil very carefully and settled on a layout of five rows each of ten plants. I called this my ‘test garden’. All the plants were staked and assigned a sequential number which I could then refer to in my record book, where I kept all the important information – details of the seed parent, date of planting and source of the seed. This straightforward recording system worked very well. Spring comes around again… Many of the remaining plants bloomed for the first time the next spring. Some were simply lovely, others were not so special! Some hardly grew at all, while others were strong and vigorous. The diversity in plants was very interesting and some of the flowers were definitely worth all my efforts. After the plants bloomed I decided to dispose of any plants in the 'test garden' that showed no hope at all, to make room for the more 'deserving' as they became ready for the ground. Space was limited and by now and I had too many weaker plants taking up valuable space. It was time to do some house cleaning! Also, by now, I realized the importance in being more selective in the number of plants I could raise at any one time. It wasn't easy to dispose of any plant that I had raised, but I knew I had to do it. A further interest had always been to learn about controlled pollinations, in order that I myself could choose the parents. I had reached the point where I felt it was necessary, and, of course, this area of clematis-raising has to be the most rewarding of all! The other important thing was that I'd be able to cultivate smaller numbers of plants, so less space would be needed, but at the same time I’d have full control over which particular 125

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The Clematis 2019 plants I wanted to raise. During that winter I had contacted Brian Collingwood who had been hybridising clematis for some time. Brian spent quite a bit of time explaining to me all the procedures necessary for obtaining the best results. He even put together (and posted to the United States for me!) an organized ‘hybridizing kit’ for me to begin my first controlled pollinations. He was an enormous help in getting started and his enthusiasm for this subject was obvious. I was extremely grateful, to say the least!

Previous page and above: some of my other seedlings

I spent the entire following summer learning how to do controlled pollinations and keeping careful records of everything I did. It was a great experience and I became better and better at it as time went on. By late Autumn, I was collecting the first seeds from my own hybridisation efforts! I am very anxious to see the flowers of the plants raised from these seeds: one can never anticipate the results. Now, the waiting and the expectation are almost as much fun as seeing the first flowers! My journey into growing clematis from seed has only just begun. There are so many hybridizing combinations I'd really love to try and much excitement lies ahead. What fun it will be! Images © S. MacMahon 127

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Growing Clematis from Seed Brian Collingwood UK bcollingwood@ntlworld.com

ou don’t need to be an expert to grow your own clematis plants from seed – even ordinary amateurs such as you and I can manage it. The rewards are always exciting and sometimes completely thrilling! The clematis family is wonderfully large and diverse. BCS members cultivate many cultivars and species in their gardens and greenhouses and annually pool their collected seeds so that other would be growers can have a try – a superb range of clean, ready to plant high quality seed is always available from the BCS Seed Exchange (for BCS members) at nominal cost. You can choose to grow seed from large-flowered hybrids or many other cultivars, and seed of a good range of species clematis is also available. If you wish, you can hybridise your own plants at home to produce seeds; the resultant seedlings are always extremely interesting and the very first flowerings are invariably quite thrilling. With species seed you will get beautiful plants which resemble the parents closely in flower and form. With seed from any hybrid plant (including those you hybridise yourself) you will get novel plants whose flowers are different to the parents’ to a lesser or greater degree, and herein lies much potential excitement. With some seeds you will need patience before germinations begin, but there are also plenty of quick germinators to keep you busy while you are waiting for those which take a little longer. The flowers of such clematis are just as beautiful as those which make you wait! Many species and cultivar seeds can be germinated, grown on and flowered all in the first year. With large-flowered hybrids and some others you will probably not get first flowers until the second year but this is not set in stone. Early season (or prior winter) germinations, given ongoing attention, care and lots of tlc can develop remarkably over the course of just one season. Germinating the seed is straightforward. Traditional method: sow by the dozen into small (3-4 inches) pots of compost, covering with ¼ to ½ inch of compost topped with a thinnish layer of fine horticultural gravel (or similar); or Baggie method: you can germinate them in plastic ‘baggies’ and then transfer them to pots of compost once they 128

The Clematis 2019 are sprouting. Using the traditional pot method germination times range from 30-90 days for many species and cultivars, however seed from large-flowered hybrids and some of the Viorna Group (and any others with thicker, larger seeds) may take 180-400 days. There are also many ‘inbetweeners’ in terms of germination times. You may at first frown about longer germination times – but my friend, the time’s going to pass anyway, so just get your seeds planted as soon as you receive them! In view of the fact that some seeds need a longer germination time, seed pots can prudently be enclosed in top-sealing clear plastic bags, which helps to maintain a stable environment over long periods. The ‘baggie’ method often gives significantly quicker germinations than the traditional method so it is especially useful for those that normally take longer to germinate. You simply mix the seeds with an inert material such as vermiculite, moisten the mix, seal the bag, store and wait. If you are creating seed by deliberately hybridising plants this potential shortening of germination times can be extremely valuable: the hybridiser will always want to have seedlings at the earliest possible moment because the sooner we have the brand new seedlings, the nearer we are to the brand new flowers. With either method, checking for germinations is straightforward. With pots any germinations are easily visible at the surface of the medium. As soon as you see seedlings, remove the plastic bags, if you used them. Once germinants appear, keep the pots in diffuse light always avoiding the sun’s direct rays. When they have grown into 129

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New large-flowered hybrid

small plants they can be transferred into individual (approximately 4 inches) pots for growing on and nurturing. With baggies, as you run your eye over the vermiculite you will catch sight of tiny green leaves and roots. As germinations occur they are pricked out into moist medium in small pots where they settle and establish themselves until large enough to go into the next pot size up, as you would do with any young plant. However you go about it, as soon as you get seedlings, label them. Although the clematis family is wide and varied you can treat all seedlings more or less the same during the first year. Once in their own individual pots, top each pot with fine gravel and keep them neat, tidy and just about moist at all times. They don’t need supplemental feed as there is adequate nutrients in the medium of the pots. As the seedlings grow, stake them, at first using long cocktail sticks or the like, then eventually graduate to slim 12 inch flower sticks and, later in the season, 18 inch sticks. If young seedlings are becoming too straggly, prune them. Even very young seedlings benefit from early pruning. Despite their fragile appearance and your worries, they come back stronger than ever with new, vigorous toughened-up growths. Pruning also stimulates root expansion and, as we all know, the root is king. Don’t be afraid to prune them – it would happen routinely in the wild. Once the plants are seen to be actively growing they should be restricted to two vines or kept otherwise in careful, managed control. Prune away any excess growth. A couple of vines only, wound neatly up and around 12 or 18 inch stakes is more than adequate to produce a beautiful flowering display. This also keeps the plants in perfect condition for 130

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Clematis coactilis from seed

longer – fewer growths translates to a constantly lower withdrawal rate of nutrients from the medium. If too many vines are permitted, you will labour to keep the plants in good health because they will quickly exhaust the available nutrients; you will find yourself dealing with long, straggling growths which are almost impossible to disentangle without breakage, difficult to tie onto stakes in orderly fashion, and a struggle to water satisfactorily. Keeping them restricted, however, makes the whole job very straightforward and enjoyable and gives you far better results, with earlier flowers and consequent greater satisfaction. With a little practice it becomes a quick and easy task to attach the elongating shoots to stakes, using plastic covered wire ties (available from any garden centre). As the season goes on and the plants develop, repot them from 4 inch pots into one litre pots, and in due course into two litre pots. You will know when repotting time has come because the roots will fill all the available pot space and start to peek out of the drainage holes at the base. Soon, tiny flower buds appear and the excitement really begins. If you have grown species plants you will experience the thrill of seeing new-to-you clematis species flowers for the very first time. If you have grown seeds from hybrid plants you will enjoy the wonderful excitement of watching brand new, unique plants slowly unfurl their very first beautiful new flowers. You will be the first person ever to see these blooms. If you have hybridised your own seed the anticipation rises with each passing day, culminating in the magical moment of glimpsing the completely novel first flowers of unique plants from your own hands. Once the plants have survived two winters (and the roots have filled at least a 2 litre pot) you can select from them, with a view to planting them out in the garden. Take the same approach to readying the site as you would for any other new clematis plant. You can now learn much, much more about the individual plants and their exact flowering and other characteristics (and individual quirks) over the coming few seasons. You might even give them names as you get to know each other better. You have succeeded in your goal of raising new clematis plants from seed. Be careful, as once you have seen your first new flowers, ‘from seed’ can become highly addictive! 131

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MONTANA SEEDLINGS AT BY THE WAY Valerie Le May Neville-Parry UK val@lmnp.co.uk

avid Jewell has become a good friend and regular visitor to By The Way over the last few years. Our first meeting was many years ago at Wisley. I had written to the RHS requesting advice on pruning roses and was referred to David who arranged for a member of his team to demonstrate what to do. He has since moved to become Keeper of Collections at Hilliers Arboretum. Initially the aim was for Hilliers to obtain a second National Collection of the Montana Group but that has proved too much of a challenge as they don’t have sufficient staff to establish and maintain them. Now they are aiming to grow my top twenty. A Montana was sold to me in 2004 labelled C. chrysocoma ‘Continuity’ but, two years ago, Raymond Evison said it isn’t the original of that name. It is a wonderful plant, a top visitor favourite, so I was delighted, after first consulting David’s partner, Wendy, to name it ‘The Jewell’. I received a phone call from David in December 2017 saying he had a copy of the special edition December 2017 of Gardens Illustrated open at page 57 – the full page picture opposite was ‘The Jewell’, acknowledging the source of the name. David with ‘The Jewell’

David was thrilled. He has given cuttings to Alan Postill to propagate. Alan succeeded in rooting material in 2017 and I rooted a further ten cuttings in 2018. There is a well rooted plant in a two litre pot ready for David on his 60th birthday on 26th August. Julian Noble visited on 1st May and we inspected ‘The Jewell’ stems, some of which bore very small flowers and leaves. We decided to cut out the affected stems. 132

The Clematis 2019 We needn’t have worried about causing the plant any harm though as, within just a couple of weeks, numerous new stems had emerged from the crown. Many have since been severely cut back by deer which have visited every night throughout the summer. They have savaged most of the clematis seedlings and new growth as well as defoliating and deflowering the roses and geraniums. In August I barricaded the bed and there were half a dozen good long stems by mid-September.

Julian taking a close look at ‘The Jewell’ stems, which produced very small flowers and leaves this spring

NEW DWARF & COMPACT MONTANA SEEDLINGS Having set ‘The Jewell’ seed in autumn 2014, two years later several were mature enough to flower. What little darlings they are. One went to live with Matt Biggs – he named it ‘Chloe’ after his younger daughter. A second is ‘Emma Joan’ named for a talented young local gymnast turned footballer. Emma has visited me with her sister, Rhiannon, and my friend, Mary, since 2014. The 2019 flowering and growth of ‘Emma Joan’, planted in the cherry tree bed two years ago, was disappointing. The stems had failed to grow since planting out and she displayed only two poor flowers, having produced ten delightfully shaped blooms in 2018. In late June 2019 she was dug up and replanted in a deep pot. In less than six weeks she produced three long stems from the crown and some of the original stems have sprung back into life. Cuttings will be taken after the spring 2020 flowering. 133

The Clematis 2019 ‘Emma Joan’ - two (of ten) lovely flowers in 2018

Matt reports that ‘Chloe’ has also failed to flourish in the open ground. He plans to dig her up and place her in a long pot. It seems it’s not just my thin, stony soil that causes some cultivars to give up the ghost. Perhaps some more compact Montana plants fare better in tree pots as opposed to the open ground. This is certainly true of ‘Van Gogh’. A rooted cutting was planted in the soil two years ago and it barely survives. A cutting taken at the same time, planted in a pot, flowered profusely in spring 2019. Perhaps this should be seen as a bonus when many folk only have patios to grow plants? My eleven-year old original ‘Van Gogh’ 20080060 remains in a 55 litre tree pot. Each year all stems are cut back to two leaf nodes immediately after flowering, fed and watered. Every third year it is tipped out of the pot, bottom third sawn off, a new compost mix (grit, mole-hill soil from the paddocks, aerobic By The Way compost and leaf mould) goes into the bottom of the pot before replacing the plant, feeding and watering. ‘Emma Joan’ dug up and re-potted – three new stems emerged from the crown in less than six weeks (Image © Chris King)

It gets a small handful of bone meal mixed with compost watered in round the edge of the pot in the autumn to encourage root growth, has a 10cm covering of home-made compost in the spring and is fed with a weak comfrey or nettle tea about once a month throughout the summer. The new stems race up the trellis and produce masses of flowers the following spring. ‘Alan Postill’ (a seedling from ‘The Jewell’) has always lived in a pot – but it needs potting on as soon as my moles return and produce sufficient mole-hill soil. Five years after sowing, the twelve stems are 80-90cms long. The plant flowered magnificently this spring, clothed in delightful white-tinged-pink flowers and, beautifully veined, shaped and glossy, dark bronze foliage in spring, which fades to light bronze/green in summer. I can detect no perfume. It sent out good cutting material and has ripening seed heads by mid-August. I took cutting material to Alan, master propagator at Hilliers Arboretum for 51 years, on 10th June and plan to take cuttings for myself when I have a moment – 134

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Alan and Jacqueline Postill with ‘Alan Postill’

they might need to be double node by that time. They will be kept encased in their own plastic bag greenhouse in the covered cold frame over the autumn and winter months. There should be viable seed if anyone is interested.

‘Alan Postill’ flowers and foliage in late May 2019

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The Clematis 2019 I have been monitoring a tiny, multi-stemmed seedling for several years. Previously known as ‘Doorstep Montana’ but now proudly named ‘Brian Collingwood’, the stems measure approximately 50-60cms long and it has a trailing plant habit. The old woody

‘Brian Collingwood’ flowering in May. Below, after cutting all stems by half in mid-June

stems grow horizontally with the new growth cascading down. It has minute leaves and pure white flowers, 45cm diameter, at the end of each stem. It has attracted a great deal of attention for the last couple of years. As there was no cutting material this year it was replanted into a tree pot in midJune and all stems were cut back by half. Within four weeks there was luxuriant new 136

The Clematis 2019 growth on every stem. Two cuttings were taken on 18th July and a further five on 5th August. They were placed in top-sealed plastic bags behind the potting shed. Five more were popped into the hydropod on 5th August. The two taken on 18th July showed resistance when gently tugged on 15th August. The rooted plants were potted on and seated on the soil of one the tomato plants in the greenhouse. They are thus shaded from the sun and intense heat. They will be hardened off by the end of September and placed in the cold frame throughout the autumn and winter months. The cuttings taken on 5th August will go in their current pot and plastic bag ‘greenhouse’ into the cold frame until growth resumes next spring. The bag should prevent them being eaten by slugs! I hope the belt and braces approach will provide good plants for Brian and friends by late spring. Two other compact, multi-stemmed, self-sown seedlings were named last year and produced lovely flowers in spring 2019. They are both set rather too near the front of the border and I am careful when edging the area. Marcus Dancer has taken cuttings of ‘Audrey’, a lovely pink and white flowered plant with exceptionally pretty leaves. It has been well pruned by the deer during August but I hope it will flower in 2020 on the stems they couldn’t reach. It is being trained into a Salisbury Silk apple tree. This seedling is named for a dear friend, a member of the MX-5 car club. Audrey and her husband David have kept in regular touch with me since Chris died.

‘Audrey’ with Audrey

A second seedling, growing just centimetres from ‘Audrey’ is pure white. Again multistemmed, this one is named ‘Patience’ after an ex-colleague. It is being trained back towards the laurel hedge. Seeds of ‘Prosperity’ were sown in late summer 2012. One was planted in the ground in 2014, named ‘Maureen’ in 2015 and registered in 2018. It has pure white flowers, 137

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‘Patience’ flowers and buds

small grey-green leaves and remains compact at less than 3m after seven years. Marcus Dancer has taken cuttings for the last two years. Maureen Darling is the name of a dear friend who lives in nearby Lover. She was the star in a Country File valentine feature in 138

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Maureen with ‘Maureen’ – mature plant

Maureen with a well-rooted cutting supplied by Marcus. This plant should be mature enough to go out into the garden this autumn or next spring.

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The Clematis 2019 February. ‘Maureen’ is multi-stemmed and the flowers are slightly smaller than ‘Prosperity’. Like her seed parent, she flowers late May throughout June and into the beginning of July, thus extending the Montana flowering season. It is a delightful addition to the group and I am pleased that Marcus is making it available more widely. MORE VIGOROUS SEEDLINGS Several other good Montana seedlings have been named this year but not yet registered. Two strong, intertwined, self-set plants were extracted from the ‘Van Gogh’ tree pot in autumn 2018. They were planted together in a bed south east of the bedroom patio. My lovely cleaning lady, Pat, has named the pink one for her grand-daughter, JessicaB, and my dear friend, Jo, who regularly takes me to our local garden centre, started up our Village Singers choir as well as looking after Horatio (cat) when I am out for the day, said that the more vigorous pure white seedling ‘CoJo’ was the one for her.

Pat enjoying the scent of ‘JessicaB’

A number of seedlings have now been in the ground for several years, registered and attract much admiration from visitors. ‘Marilyn’ is named for two very dear friends of that name – Marilyn Charlesworth and Marilyn Knight. They both posed with their namesake, which has been wonderful in 2019. Marilyn Knight has rooted cuttings. It is a lovely, multi-stemmed perfumed plant of medium vigour with the longest sepals in the group. It flowers for well over a month. Worthy of a place in any garden. In the middle of summer 2018 the man who had mown my lawn since Chris died suddenly stopped coming. No warning, just didn’t turn up. Emergency! It had been suggested to me a couple of years previously that I should think of getting a robot to do the job. Hants Plant Heritage Co-Ordinator of National Collections, Rosie Yeomans, 140

The Clematis 2019

Jo with ‘CoJo’

‘CoJo’ – flowers

gave me details of my nearest supplier. A delightful young man came to assess the suitability of the garden. As he was leaving he mentioned he had a friend, Adam, trained at Hilliers – he thought he might have a few spare hours. As well as being a delight to 141

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Marilyn Knight with husband Barrie, ‘Marilyn’ behind

Dr Marilyn Charlesworth with ‘Marilyn’

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The Clematis 2019 work with, Adam has been willing to turn his hand to anything. He helped eradicate an infestation of carpet moths from the lounge carpet, replaced garage door springs, ordered me a new electric toothbrush, emptied my loft, mended the hut doors so I can now unlock and lock them, taught me how to operate Ro and Bot from my mobile phone and set out and ordered new visiting cards. Last but not least, he managed to get photos transferred from my iPad to my computer before teaching me how to insert them into this text. What a treasure. In May Adam asked if he could show his parents, Nick and Janice, and grand-mother, Ann, round the garden. I had offered him a Montana seedling to name and he chose a pretty pink reflex-sepalled seedling, naming it ‘Janice Ann’. Cuttings have so far refused to root but the plan is to give the original to his parents

‘Janice Ann’ flowering in May 2019

so that they can enjoy it whilst his grand-mother still lives nearby. Having recently erected a new fence along the top of the bank I shall eventually plant a ‘Janice Ann’ cutting to grow along that – Adam having dug the hole, of course! An interesting seedling has emerged to the east of the shepherds hut. I offered it to my brother to name. It was his fiftieth wedding anniversary in July and he provisionally named it ‘Tamlyn’, in honour of his wife, Lyn and daughter Tamsin (who is also my God-daughter). I hope it will turn out to be ‘a good un’. Last, but certainly not least, a gorgeous seedling emerged in a massive pot into which I had planted three little roses given to me by my dear friend, Bruno, on one of his annual visits. Bruno, and partner, David, lived for many years in a lovely thatched house about 100m from By The Way. Bruno is a master chef and cooked for Ted Heath for many years. Chris and I would 143

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Janice, Nick, Adam and Ann outside my shepherds hut

Lyn & Tamsin, with ‘Tamlyn’, 7th July 2019 – two days after brother Roger & Lyn’s 50th wedding anniversary

be invited to spend every Christmas Day with them. What luxury. The meals were perfection, of course. 144

We hosted 150 friends in our garden and the food was voted as the best our guests had ever eaten. The young ram lamb that tupped my sheep in the autumn of 1992 was very tasty. The ram had head butted me full face, breaking my nose, as I was checking a lame ewe the day Chris left for the London boat show. The Montana seedling in the pot is special in that it has lovely deep pink leaves with pure white flowers. It is now gracing a place of honour below the new fence. And what of the future? I have been so delighted with the dwarf Montana seedlings from ‘The Jewell’ and ‘Prosperity’ as seed parents that I want to try some cross pollination over the next few years. For example, ‘Veitch’ is a glorious pure deep pink – very compact – and ‘By The Way’ is a lovely pale pink with the best scent. Advice welcome from you experts who already cross pollinate. Do’s and don’ts would be a great help. Except where credited, all images © Valerie Le May Neville-Parry.

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‘Sweet Dreams’

Clematis Registered from July 2018 to June 2019 Sarah Holme RHS International Registrar Clematis & Lilium clematisregistrar@rhs.org.uk

s the observant Clematarian will have noticed, Duncan Donald retired from the role of International Clematis Registrar earlier this summer and I was fortunate to take over in August. I know I have a very hard act to follow but I will endeavour to do my very best for your registrations! Please note that if you are using the older registration forms with Duncan’s address on, please send them to Wisley instead, at: International Clematis Registrar, c/o RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB, UK (or, via e-mail, to the following address: clematisregistrar@rhs.org.uk). New versions of the registration forms, which include an updated GDPR statement can be found at https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/ plantsmanship/plant-registration/clematis-registration. I am very much looking forward to working with the wider Clematis community and especially receiving your new registrations. Since the beginning of July 2018 through to the end of June 2019, thirty-nine applications for new clematis cultivar names were accepted: eleven of these were from the UK; nine from Germany; five each from The Netherlands and China; four from the USA; three from Japan and finally two from Poland. Val Le May Neville-Parry has registered eight new cultivar names, seven of which are in the Montana group. These plants comprise Val’s new range of ‘very compact’ Montana introductions, indeed, ‘Emma Joan’ qualifies as ‘dwarf’ in status: ‘Emma Joan’ with rose-pink sepals and ruffled, white margins; ‘Little Mo’ (right) with heavily scented pale pink flowers; ‘Madam Wemyss’ with deep pink sepals and a compact habit; ‘Marilyn’ with cruciform, scented flowers that open deep pink, becoming paler; ‘Susie’ with white, broadly elliptic sepals and a very compact habit; ‘The Jewell’ with 4-5 146

sepals, inside with purple veins over a pinkish white ground (and sometimes with cerise margins when young) and ‘Victoria Welcome’ with 4 pure white sepals. Finally, named after her late husband, ‘Chris’ (AGM) is a scented cultivar, with flowers in closely-arranged heads, in the Heracleifolia group, sepals violet-blue on the inside, contrasting with a lavender-grey outside. Ken Black’s Atragene Group cultivar ‘Roz Kelly’ has semi-double, narrowly bell-shaped nodding flowers with lilac sepals, sometimes with irregular splashes of very pale yellow-green to mid-green (particularly along the margins), that fades with age. ‘Victoria Welcome’

Richard Hodson’s Viorna Group cultivar ‘Strawberry Splash’ has pitcher-shaped flowers whose sepals are redpurple to purplish pink on the outside, and milkwhite on the inside. Paul Dunstan has registered a semi-double Montana Group cultivar, ‘Madam Jeanne’, whose 147

The Clematis 2019 flowers are soft pink, maturing to purplish pink, sometimes with a dark red-purple staining near the base. Six new cultivar names have been introduced by Baumschule Sachs GbR: two Early Large-flowered Group cultivars, ‘Elias’ with brilliant violet sepals and a slightly red-purple bar, and the semi-double flowered ←‘Maria Renate’ with 7-20 bluish white sepals; the Late-flowered Group ‘Amore Mio’ has deep purplish-red sepals, ‘Blue Maria’ in the Atragene Group has semi-double, broadly bell-shaped flowers, the sepals strong purplish blue with undulating margins, the tip often twisted, staminodes usually petaloid and white; ‘Planet Uranus’ in the Viticella Group has strong violet sepals with a paler bar; and also in the Viticella group ‘Let’s Dance’ is mainly strong reddish purple with a redder bar. Clematis Herian has registered three cultivar names: ‘Klaus Körber’ in the Integrifolia Group has nodding, very pale violet flowers with pale violet-blue veining; also in the Integrifolia Group, ‘Pretty Barbara’ has slightly glossy violetblue or slate-blue, greydowny sepals; and finally ‘Pretty Anna’ in the Tangutica Group has broadly bellshaped, slightly scented yellow flowers. Wim Snoeijer has registered five cultivars on behalf of Van

‘Let’s Dance’

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The Clematis 2019 Zoest: ‘Zo07201’ AMAZING TOKYO is pale purple with a darker stripe, ‘Zo08160’ SPOTLIGHT has flowers ‘Klaus Körber’

in varying shades of pale violet (the spring flowers usually tinged purple in the centre at base, the summer flowers usually with a paler bar), ‘Zo09122’ SUPER CUTE has pale purple flowers with a darker/red-purple bar when young (registered 14/11/2018, as submitted, as ‘Zo09112’; this was amended 14/1/2019 when it became clear the application form contained a typographical error and ‘Zo09122’ was intended), ‘Zo11112’ SUPER NIGHT has very dark violet flowers in spring, the summer flowers are bright violet with a dark violetpurple bar, and finally ‘Zo12153’ MANDY with pale violetpurple flowers. Mei Lan Tsang has registered an Early Large-flowered Group cultivar by the name of ‘Sweet Dreams’→ The sweetly scented flowers have 6-7 sepals which are purple violet on the inside, suffused with darker markings (sparse flecking and veining radiating outwards from the bar) with the narrowly-triangular bar being slightly raised and deep reddish purple to just below the tip. 149

The Clematis 2019 Zhejiang A & F University has registered four clones of different native species, all wild collected. From Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province comes apiifolia ‘Jaio Yang’ with flat or flattish flowers, with a dome of stamens and 4 white sepals; C. finetiana ‘Zhi Yin’ with 4-6 white sepals and numerous stamens; and C. uncinata ‘Fan Xing’ with flat or flattish flowers, with a dome of stamens and 4 white sepals, pale greenish white in bud, which are downy on the outside. Finally, from Anhui Province comes C. chinensis ‘XiaYun’ with sweetly scented flat or flattish flowers, with a dome of stamens and 4 white sepals. ‘Roz Kelly’

‘Madame Jeanne’

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Maurice Horn of Joy Creek Nursery has registered three new cultivars: The Early Large-flowered Group ‘Bambino’ has large flowers, mainly white inside, tinged faint yellowish green along bar, with pale pink filaments and anthers contrasting with dark red-purple connectives; the Atragene Group ‘Dark Dancer’ has narrowly bell-shaped, nodding deep violet flowers with paler, narrow margins; and in the

The Clematis 2019 Integrifolia Group ‘Pink Pinwheel’ has large, broadly bell-shaped, nodding flowers, whose rose-pink sepals are strongly twisted and recurving to give the flower a ‘pinwheel’ appearance. Brushwood Nursery’s Dan Long has recently registered a Viorna Group cultivar named ←‘Princess Meghan’ which has deep purplish red, urn-shaped, nodding flowers which are pinkish white along the split margins. Three cultivars were registered by Takeo Sano: named after one of the highest mountains in the Suzuka Range between Mie and Shiga Prefectures, ‘Gozaisho’ is in the Viticella Group and has white sepals with a light purple bar on the inside and a very pale purple outside; ‘Miyagawa’ has pinkish white sepals inside, the outside being downy with a very pale violet midrib, and finally ‘Très Bien’, with 6-7 sepals, strong purple, ageing through brilliant purple to very light purple, outside with broad, bluish white midribs. ‘Très Bien’

Szczepan Marczyński has registered two new cultivars: ‘Lavender Beauty’ opens inside deep lavenderpurple with a purple bar, maturing to lavender with a purple bar, on the exterior opening with a pale purple bar shading to deep lavender purple towards the margins; ‘Pink Beauty’ opens rose-pink, maturing to soft pink, with a red-purple bar.

The Clematis 2019

International Clematis Society 2019 Report Ken Woolfenden Editor and Webperson, I.Cl.S. ken@woolfenden.org

he International Clematis Society (I.Cl.S.) currently has members in twenty-four countries around the world. Each year the Society publishes a journal, two or three short newsletters and generally holds one meeting, visiting a different country from that of the previous few years. The 2019 I.Cl.S. meeting was held in June in Portland, Oregon, USA. It was organized and hosted by the Friends of the Rogerson Clematis Collection. This was the fourth visit by the Society to the USA and the third in the Portland area. However, the organizers had carefully crafted the itinerary to avoid duplication with previous meetings, other than Silver Star Vinery and the Rogerson Clematis Garden, both ‘must see’ destinations and much developed from the last time we were there. We saw many private gardens, large and small, as well as a number of nurseries. We tasted wine and olive oil (not at the same time!), had a private early morning tour of the Lan Su Classical Chinese Garden, an oasis of peace and calm in the middle of bustling Portland, and spent a morning soaking up the atmosphere at the Lake Oswego Farmers Market. The Rogerson Clematis Garden at Luscher Farm is important not only for the large clematis collection it contains but also because of its origin with Brewster Rogerson. The plans that had been described on our last visit in 2010 have been actioned, not just with an expansion of the collection but with much improved display beds, labelling and signage. Several varieties of strawberries have been planted at the base of a number of rows of clematis and luckily, our visit coincided with the annual Solstice Strawberry Tasting! Along with about one hundred members of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, bowls of each variety were laid out on tables for us to taste, and we then voted for the ones we liked. In 2020 the I.Cl.S. is planning a meeting in northern Denmark. Gardening is quite popular in Denmark and we have found some very enthusiastic and knowledgeable clematis growers to visit, many with large clematis collections. However there are no specialist clematis nurseries there, so whilst we start in northern Denmark we will finish in the Hamburg region of Germany so that we can include visits to the clematis nurseries of Mathias Münster and Manfred Westphal. Looking further ahead, the Society is discussing the possibility of a visit to Denver, Colorado, USA in 2021, for a meeting based around the Denver Botanic Gardens. 152

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Changes to the BCS Constitution Julian Noble, Honorary Secretary and BCS Trustee

ur constitution states how many members and officers need to be elected to form the Executive Committee. We have been concerned for some time that we have not been meeting the required numbers. As a result, we put forward amendments to the constitution to reduce both the number of officers and committee members. We no longer have the post of Vice Chair and have reduced the number of members of the Executive Committee to no less than 6 and not more than 10 (this includes the officers). This reflects the significantly smaller membership in the Society since the constitution was written in 1995. In addition, we have amended the constitution to bring the period of notice for nominations to the Executive Committee in line with the notice of our AGM or EGM. Permission to serve on the Executive Committee for longer than two terms of 3 years is now vested in the members at the AGM rather than with the Executive Committee itself. The amendments to the constitution were passed nem con at the AGM held on 6 th April 2019. The amended constitution has been submitted to the Charity Commission. *

BRITISH CLEMATIS SOCIETY CONSTITUTION Amended at the Annual General Meeting held on 6th April 2019. Registered Charity No. 1049107: RHS Affiliation No. 10586944. 1. Name The name of the Association is the BRITISH CLEMATIS SOCIETY - ('the Society') 2. Objectives The aims of the Society are to encourage, improve and extend the cultivation of clematis and to disseminate knowledge of clematis and clematis culture by means of publications, promotions, exhibitions, scientific research, national co-operation and exchange, meetings, conferences and other appropriate activities. 3. Headquarters The Headquarters of the Society shall be at a place as may from time to time be fixed by the Executive Committee of the Society. 153

The Clematis 2019 4. Membership 1. Membership of the Society shall be open to individuals and any bodies, corporate or unincorporated, that are interested in furthering the Objectives of the Society. 2. The classes of Membership shall be as follows: (a) Individual Members – individuals who have paid the appropriate Annual Subscription; (b) Joint Members – two individual Members living at the same address may choose to be treated as Joint Members and pay the appropriate Annual Subscription. Joint Members will each be entitled to a vote at General Meetings but will only be entitled to a single copy of newsletters, journals and other publications and notices between them; (c) Junior members – individuals below the age of 16 at the start of the Society’s year who have paid the appropriate Annual Subscription; (d) Life Members – Individual Members or Joint Members who have paid the appropriate Life Membership Fee; (e) Honorary Members – Any Member or non-member who has been elected to such at the Annual General Meeting on the advice of the Executive Committee for rendering distinguished service to the study and culture of clematis or rendering notable service to the Society. This shall be for life with full voting rights and they will not be required to pay membership subscriptions; (f) Member Organisations – corporate or unincorporated organisations that have paid the appropriate Annual Subscription. Such organisations shall nominate annually an individual to act on their behalf and shall inform the Honorary Secretary in writing of details of that individual. Failure to do so, or to forthwith update that nomination, shall disqualify an organisation from voting; 3. Subject to the provisions of clause 4, 2 (c) above all Members shall be entitled to the rights and privileges of Membership which shall include receiving a single copy of the Society’s journal “The Clematis”, newsletters, formal communications and a single vote at General Meetings. 4. The Executive Committee may establish different classes of membership and set appropriate rates of subscription, subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting, and these shall have effect from the renewal date. 5. The Annual Subscription period shall run for a period of one year from 1st January each year. 6. Membership of the Society shall not be transferable. 7. The Executive Committee must keep a register of members. 8. The Executive Committee may terminate the membership of any individual whether or not a Joint Member or organisation whose continued membership would, in the reasonable view of the Executive Committee, be harmful to the Society but only after notifying the Member concerned in writing and considering the matter in the light of any written representations which the Member puts forward within 14 clear days after receiving notice. 9. A Member whose subscription is 6 months in arrears ceases to be a Member but may be readmitted on payment of the amount owing. 10. A Member may resign by written notice to the BCS Hon. Membership Secretary. 154

The Clematis 2019 5. Honorary Officers 1. At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society, the Members shall elect from amongst themselves a Chairman, a Secretary, a Membership Secretary and a Treasurer who shall hold office from the conclusion of the meeting for a period of one year. 2. Nominations for the election of an Honorary Officer or Officers shall be by Members of the Society in writing to the Honorary Secretary not later than 28 days prior to the AGM. Nomination forms of candidates for election shall be signed by the nominee and a proposer and seconder; each must be a paid-up member of the Society. 3. Where the number of nominees exceeds the vacancies there shall be a secret ballot of Members present and voting at the AGM. Two scrutineers will be appointed by the Chairman of the AGM for that purpose. 6. Executive Committee 1. (a) Each Executive Committee member must sign a declaration of willingness to act as a Charity Trustee of the Society before he or she is eligible to vote in any meeting of such Committee. (b) The Executive Committee as Charity Trustees has control of the Society and its property and funds. 2. The management and administration of the affairs of the Charity shall be vested in an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of not less than six (6) and not more than ten (10) members being: (a) The four (4) Honorary Officers specified in the preceding clause. (b) Committee Members elected at the AGM who shall hold office from the conclusion of that meeting for a period of three years. 3. (a) Honorary Officers of the Society shall retire from office at the end of the AGM next after the date on which they came into office but may be re-elected in the same position or such other position as may be agreed by the Executive Committee for a maximum of six consecutive years. (b) Honorary Officers shall be elected each year to a maximum of six years only but the 7 to 9 Committee Members shall serve for two consecutive terms of 3 years. (c) After serving a maximum term of six consecutive years, Honorary Officers and Executive Committee Members must stand down. At the discretion of the Annual General Meeting an Honorary Officer or a Member of the Executive Committee may be nominated for re-election beyond the six continuous years if it considers that appropriate and in the best interests of the Society. (d) Newly proposed nominees and all members of the Executive Committee who have served as a member of the Committee for a period of 3 years, shall be elected/re-elected as the case may be, at the AGM. The nomination forms of all candidates for election/re-election shall be signed by the nominee and a proposer and seconder; each must be a paid-up Member of the Society. The nominations must be sent to the Honorary Secretary not later than 28 days before the AGM. (e) Where the number of nominees exceeds the vacancies there shall be a secret ballot of Members present and voting at the AGM. Two scrutineers shall be appointed by the Chairman of the AGM for that purpose. 155

The Clematis 2019 (f) Where insufficient nominations for office have been received within the stipulated time, the Chairman may receive names from ‘the floor’ providing the proposer, seconder and candidate are present and each is a paid up Member and that the candidate agrees to his/her name being put forward. 4. Nobody who is aged under 18 shall be appointed as a member of the Executive Committee. 5. The Executive Committee shall cause the title to all land held by or in trust for the Charity which is not vested in the Official Custodian for Charities and all investments held by or on behalf of the Society to be held in the name of three members of the Executive Committee. Such members may be appointed at the complete discretion of the Executive Committee. 6. (a) Any vacancy on the Executive Committee occurring during the year may be filled in such a manner as the Executive Committee decides. The Executive Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members as required, provided that not more than one third of the total membership of the Executive Committee shall be so co-opted. (b) A co-opted member shall be a fully paid up Member of the Society. (c) A co-opted member shall continue as a member of the Committee until the next AGM. (d) A co-opted member shall for all purposes be a member of the Executive Committee. 7. The Chairman or (if the Chairman is unable or unwilling to do so) some other member chosen by the members present and voting, presides at each Executive Committee Meeting. 8. Except for the Chair of the meeting who has a second or casting vote in the event of an equality of voting, every Executive Committee Member has one vote on each issue. 9. No member of the Executive Committee shall receive any remuneration for acting so, nor shall he or she be interested in any contractual arrangement entered into by the Executive Committee. 10. An Executive Committee member automatically ceases to be a member of the Executive Committee if he or she: (a) Is disqualified under the Charities Act 2006 from acting as a Charity Trustee. (b) Is incapable whether mentally or physically of managing his or her own affairs. (c) Is absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee without reasonable cause and prior notice to the Honorary Secretary or Chairman. (d) Ceases to be a Member of the Society but such a person may be re-instated by resolution of all the other members of the Executive Committee on resuming Membership of the Society. (e) Resigns by written notice to the Executive Committee but only if at least two Executive Committee members will remain in office. (f) If removed by a resolution passed by all the other members of the Executive Committee after inviting the views of the Executive Committee member concerned and considering the matter in the light of any such views. (g) A retiring Executive Committee member is entitled to an indemnity from the continuing Executive Committee members at the expense of the Society in respect of any liabilities properly incurred while he or she held office. 156

The Clematis 2019 (h) A technical defect on the appointment of an Executive Committee member of which the Executive are unaware at the time does not invalidate decisions taken at a meeting. 7. Powers of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall have the following powers in the administration of the Society: (a) To appoint a Treasurer and other Honorary Officers, (b) To delegate any of their functions to sub-committees consisting of two or more persons appointed by them but at least one member of every sub-committee must be an Executive Committee member and all proceedings of all sub-committees must be reported promptly to the Executive Committee, (c) To make standing orders consistent with this Constitution to cover proceedings at general meetings, (d) To make rules consistent with the Constitution about the Executive Committee and sub-committees, (e) To make regulations consistent with the Constitution about the running of the Society including the operation of bank accounts and the commitment of funds, (f) To exercise any powers of the Society which are not reserved to a general meeting, (g) To make rules to permit the Treasurer to delegate any of his or her responsibilities to a third party so that person may collect receipts, pay expenses etc before depositing the balance into the Society’s bank account, (h) To resolve or establish procedures to assist the resolution of disputes within the Society. 8. Appointment of Staff The Society shall appoint such staff as the Executive Committee shall from time to time deem necessary and the persons so appointed shall hold office for such period and upon such terms as the Executive Committee from time to time determine. Such appointees may attend Executive Committee Meetings, at the invitation of the Executive Committee, in a non-voting capacity. 9. Executive Committee Meetings 1. (a) The Executive Committee must hold at least four meetings each year. (b) An Executive Committee meeting may be held either in person or through any electronic means agreed by such Committee in which each participant may communicate with all other participants. 2. A meeting of the Executive Committee shall be convened so often as the Executive Committee may decide or whenever the Chairman shall think necessary or on a requisition signed by not fewer than four members of the Executive Committee stating the purpose for which such a meeting is desired. 3. The Honorary Secretary shall give in writing to each member of the Executive Committee at least 14 days’ notice or such shorter notice as is agreed in writing by the members present and voting with particulars of the business to be transacted thereat. 4. Four members of the Executive Committee, of whom one is an Honorary Officer, shall form a quorum. This may include one co-opted member. 157

The Clematis 2019 10. Application of Income and Funds The property and funds of the Society must be used only for promoting the objectives and do not belong to the Members of the Society or the Executive Committee. 11. Banking 1. The Bankers of the Society shall be such bankers as the Executive Committee may from time to time appoint. The bank account (s) shall be in the name of the “British Clematis Society”. 2. All sums received on the Society's behalf shall be paid promptly into the Society's bank account(s). 3. All cheques drawn on the Society's bank account(s) shall be signed by any two of the following properly authorised signatories: Honorary Treasurer, Chairman, ViceChairman and Honorary Secretary except that cheques, up to an amount to be determined by the Executive Committee, may be authorised by any one of the signatories listed above. 12. Financial Provisions 1. The Society's financial year shall end on 31st December. 2. The Executive Committee shall comply with its obligations under the Charities Act (2006) or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof and shall: (a) Maintain and keep proper accounting records of the Society. (b) Maintain and keep an Annual Statement of Account of the Society. (c) Ensure the auditing or independent determination of the statement of account of the Society. (d) Submit the Statement of Account of the Society to the Charity Commissioners. 3. Without prejudice to sub paragraph 2 the Executive Committee must keep proper records of: (a) All proceedings at general meetings; (b) All proceedings at Executive Committee meetings; (c) All reports from sub-committees; (d) All professional advice obtained; (e) The Annual Report and Statement of Account relating to the Society must be made available for inspection by any Member of the Society; (f) A copy of the latest available Statement of Account must be supplied to any person who makes a written request and pays the Society’s reasonable costs. 13. Appointment of Independent Examiner 1. The Society shall at the Annual General Meeting appoint a suitably qualified independent examiner for the ensuing year who shall hold office for one year but shall be eligible for re-appointment. The Independent Examiner shall examine the books and accounts of the Society, confirm their accuracy and shall prepare a report in writing on them, to be made available at the Annual General Meeting. 2. No member of the Executive Committee shall be eligible to act as an Independent Examiner to the Society. 158

The Clematis 2019 14. Annual General Meeting 1. An Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held in every year and within a period of four calendar months following the end of the Society’s financial year. 2. Not less than 28 days' notice in writing of each AGM, together with particulars of the business to be transacted thereat, shall be sent by the Hon. Secretary to each Member of the Society at their last recorded address. 3. The quorum of an AGM shall consist of 10% of the membership. 4. At an AGM, Members: (a) Receive and approve the Statement of Account of the Society for the previous financial year; (b) Receive and approve the Executive Committee’s report on the Society’s activities since the previous AGM; (c) Elect Executive Committee members to replace those retiring from office; (d) Elect from among the Members of the Society the Chairman, Secretary, Membership Secretary and Treasurer for the following year; (e) Appoint an Independent Examiner for the Society; (f) Confer on any individual (with his or her consent) Honorary Life membership of the Society; (g) Discuss and determine any issues of policy or deal with any other business put before them previously advised. 5. Prior to the AGM, Members of the Society must give notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary of any motion they wish to raise at that AGM in a form that is clear, precise and to the point; this is to be received three calendar months before the AGM, so that it may be added to the agenda. 15. Special General Meeting 1. The Executive Committee has the power to convene a Special General Meeting of the Society at any time and must do so within three months of receiving a written request signed by not fewer than 50 Members. Notice in writing must be sent to all Members not less than 28 days before such a meeting informing them of the date, time, venue and purpose of the meeting. No business other than that detailed in the notice shall be transacted at the Special General Meeting. 2. The quorum of a Special General Meeting shall consist of 10% of the Membership or such other percentage as shall have been agreed upon at the AGM of the Society. 16. Voting at General Meetings All voting at Annual and Special General Meetings shall be by members of the Society or properly appointed representatives of member organisations. Every issue at Annual and Special General Meetings shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast by: (a) The Members present in person (b) The authorised representative in the case of a member organisation (c) By proxy provided such vote is notified on the form of proxy attached to this Constitution.

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The Clematis 2019 17. Meetings and Events 1. These shall be arranged by the Executive Committee at intervals and at times and places, to be determined by it. 2. The surplus of collected receipts, if any, after payment of expenses, shall be conveyed forthwith to the Honorary Treasurer of the Society 18. Notices 1. Notices under this Constitution may be sent by hand or by post or by suitable electronic means or (where applicable to Members generally) may be published in any suitable journal, newsletter or other publication distributed by the Society. The address by which a Member is entitled to receive notices is the address noted in the Register of Members (or at the last known address). 2. Any notice given in accordance with this Constitution is to be treated for all purposes as having been received: (a) 24 hours after being sent by electronic means or delivered by hand to the Member. (b) Two clear days after being sent by first class post to that address, three clear days after being sent by second class post or overseas post to that address. (c) On the date of publication of a journal or newsletter or other publication of the Society containing the notice. (d) On being handed to the Member or his authorised representative personally. (e) As soon as a Member acknowledges actual receipt. (f) A technical defect in the giving of notice of which the members or the Executive Committee Members are unaware at the time does not invalidate decisions taken at a meeting. 19. Alterations to the Constitution 1. Subject to the following provisions of this clause the Constitution may be altered by a resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting at a General Meeting. The notice of the General Meeting must include 28 clear days’ notice of the resolution, setting out the terms of the alteration proposed. 2. No amendment may be made to Clause 1; Clause 2; Clause 6 (9); Clause 20 or this clause 19 without the prior consent in writing of the Charity Commissioners. 3. No amendment may be made which would have the effect of making the Society cease to be a charity at law. 4. The Honorary Secretary should promptly send to the Charity Commissioners a copy of any amendment made under this clause. 20. Dissolution 1. If the Executive Committee decides that it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Society, which has charitable status, it shall call a meeting of all Members of the Society, giving not less than 28 days' notice and stating the terms of the resolution to be proposed. 2. If the proposal is confirmed by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting, the 160

The Clematis 2019 Executive Committee shall have the power to realise any assets held by or on behalf of the Society. 3. The transfer of the Society’s assets and funds should be transferred only as the Charity Commission approves in writing in advance. 4. A copy of the statement of account for the final accounting period of the Society must be sent to the Charity Commissioners. Constitution of the British Clematis Society discussed and agreed at the meeting of members of the Executive Committee on 17th November 2018 and approved with a unanimous vote at the AGM held on 6th April 2019.

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PLANT CENTRE & GARDEN

For Specialist and Popular Plants Visit the nursery at East Bergholt Place for all your plants from trees and shrubs to herbaceous, roses and herbs as well as an extensive range of Clematis. Café and shop sell gardening gifts and sundries. Plant Centre & Café open daily 10am-5pm

Garden open March - September Situated 2 miles East of the A12 on the B1070 East Bergholt Place, East Bergholt, Suffolk CO7 6UP

For further information Tel: 01206 299224 www.placeforplants.co.uk 163

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Editor’s Acknowledgements I should like to express my thanks to the following people who have contributed to or otherwise assisted in the preparation of this Journal. Tosh Ashworth/Medway Sling Co. Burton Agnes Hall & Gardens Suzy and Chris Cocks/Taylors Clematis Glenis Dyer Sara Ely/Place for Plants Ltd Dr Dwayne Estes Dr John Feltwell Marcel Floyd Lizzie Gibbison Charne Griffiths Peter & Margaret Hargreaves Jean Harley Penelope Hellyer Richard Hodson Sarah Holme Marie Holt Zach Irick

John Jenkins Everett Leeds Denise MacDonald Susan MacMahon Thomas Murphy Valerie Le May Neville-Parry Julian Noble Fran Palmeri Charles Pridham Sue Reade Katy Rice Werner Stastny Karin Sundström

Keith Treadaway Gary Vann Ken & Fiona Woolfenden Charlotte Wemyss

Front cover image ©Brian Collingwood Clematis GOLDEN TIARA (C. ‘Kugotia’) Frontispiece image: A new large-flowered hybrid, raised by B. Collingwood. Thanks to our Advertisers – every advertisement is much appreciated. Thanks to our publishers Charlesworth Press Ltd. Thank you to my wonderful proof-readers Glenis Dyer, Valerie Le May NevilleParry, Sue Reade, Richard Hodson, Everett Leeds and Keith Treadaway.

Goodbye!