I.Cl.S. - Book Reviews
Book Reviews by Members of the I.Cl.S. in Clematis International 2009
- The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 - Third Supplement - RHS
- Clematis Cultivar Group Classification with Identifying Key and Diagrams - Wim Snoeijer
- Kivistiku Elulõgaraamat Clematis - Aili and Taavi Kivistik
- Clematis, i inne pnacza ogrodowe - Szczepan Marczyñski
- Klematis - Andromeda Matz & Krister Cedergren
- Clématites - Didier Willery
compiled by Duncan Donald, International Clematis Registrar
Published in 2009 by The Royal Horticultural Society, 80 Vincent Square, LONDON, SW1P 2PE, Great Britain. Web site: http://www.rhs.org.uk/ ISBN 978-1-902896-96-0 Price £5.00 plus post and packing.
Also available as a free download from the RHS website (as are the 1st and 2nd Supplements) www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/Publications/registers/plantregisters.htm
Information by Ken Woolfenden
I am pleased to announce that The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 3rd Supplement has now been published.
The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 is a must for the bookshelf of every clematis lover. However, clematis registration continues year on year and the supplements provide an essential updating service.
The Third Supplement comprises a 52 page booklet, with 723 entries:
- 82 of these are for cultivars registered since the Second Supplement of 2006, as published in Clematis International 2007, 2008 and 2009,
- 91 are significant amendments to existing entries in either the 2002 Register and Checklist or the previous two supplements,
- the remaining entries fall into the "checklist" category, that is additions and/or amendments to common names, species, unregistered cultivars, trade designations, Group names, synonyms or mis-spelling found to be in use somewhere in the world.
This publication is available as a free download, as described above, or as a paper copy from RHS literature sources, including the RHS Wisley Gardens shop in Surrey, UK, at a cost of £5.00.
For the cost of post and packing and to place an order, please contact the RHS at RHS Enterprises Ltd, RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB, Great Britain, by telephone on +44 (0) 845 260 4505; by fax on +44 (0) 1483 211003, or by email to mailorder@rhs.org.uk.
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Published 2009 by Wim Snoeijer (see Membership List for contact details), language English, 202 pages in full colour including 200+ illustrations, cover hard-bound, size A4, Price 110 Euros including P&P worldwide.
To order, please contact Wim Snoeijer on wimsnoeijer@zonnet.nl or see the Society website at www.clematisinternational.com.
Described by Ken Woolfenden
Wim Snoeijer is well known to many members from our visit to J. van Zoest nursery in the Netherlands where he is the clematis breeder, from the many lectures and presentations he has given to the Society, the fascinating workshop he ran on 'Clematis Identification' at our meeting in Cambridge in 2004.
Wim has been working on his Group Classification for many years and this book is the result of this research.
The book has only just become available and, given the content, requires more time to digest and review than is available to this issue of Clematis International. I propose therefore to confine this report to a brief description and leave reviews of the content to hopefully the next issue of this journal.
The book is beautifully produced, with many colour photographs, reproduced very accurately as far as I can see.
Wim says about his book: "This book contains a vast overview of my Clematis Cultivar Group Classification which I developed over the years. The Cultivar Groups are fully described including Cultivar Group Standards and illustrations.
The relation between the Cultivar Groups are explained by text and by diagrams, something never done before in Clematis and probably also not for any other cultivated genus. The Key to identify the Cultivar Group is also unique. Solutions are also suggested for several cultivar nomenclature problems.
Extra: There is an extra inlay of Diagram No 2 on A3 size, so the Diagram can be consulted while reading the text."
Indeed the inlay is very cleverly done such that you can refer to it easily whilst reading any part of the book.
This book is a serious and technical treatise which will, I'm sure, encourage discussion and debate on the subject of the Group Classification of Clematis.
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Published 2008 by Forma Media AS, Tallinn, Estonia. www.forma.ee, 120 pages, 369 photographs, language Estonian, hardback, 21.5 cms × 23 cms, ISBN 978 9985 9830 4 1. Price 350 Estonian Kroons (~24 Euros, ~23 GBP)
Reviewed by Wim Snoeijer
This is a book about Uno Kivistik's legacy, his Clematis introductions, and about Clematis in general.
The most important pages are dedicated to the Clematis cultivars that Kivistik raised and introduced. There are 137 cultivars listed as such, all accompanied with a photograph and short description. Although the language is Estonian, which I do not read, the descriptions of the cultivars are clear enough to understand most of the information with the help of internationally understandable symbols.
Of course there are pictures of Uno Kivistik working in his garden - he also raised and introduced apples and roses, of which a few cultivar names are listed.
Other chapters are more general about care and planting and there is an A-Z listing of 142 generally known cultivars. At the end of the book there is a summary in English and Russian.
Overall the pictures are actually quite good. 'Allanah' is, perhaps, slightly overdone, true red and very distinct red colour compared with the red 'Alexandrit' on the same page. Another example of a difficult flower colour is 'Royal Velours' and this picture also is quite good.
The cultivars in both sections (Kivistik's introductions & the A-Z list) are listed by cultivar name in alphabetical order and not under a supposed species, hybrid, or group name. What a joy and how easy to find a name. It is not necessary to use the index, a real plus!
The book is meant, obviously, for the national market and probably also for the adjacent regions such as Russia. It will no doubt raise the interest in Clematis.
For those living outside Estonia the book is worth having essentially for its pages about the cultivars that Uno Kivistik raised and introduced.
This book review was written on a signed copy which the authors kindly presented to Clematis nursery J. van Zoest B.V., Boskoop, The Netherlands. I bought my copy directly from the publisher as I could not find any internet bookshop (yet) that offered the book. Despite the European Union and all its supposed benefits for its inhabitants, I had to pay 30 Euro for bank costs.
Additional comments from Erika Mahhov
The book was published in 2008, in memory of Uno Kivistik who passed away 10 years before (12th July 1998). It tells the reader about the many years of clematis breeding that was carried out at Roogoja Farm, but more importantly, it documents all the cultivars created by Uno and Aili Kivistik, as well as the experiments performed by Uno Kivistik with apple and pear trees, roses and even grape vines.
Due to the fact that many of the pictures in the book are from the 1980s, the inconsistencies in classification and names is understandable and excusable. However it would have helped if the names would have been reviewed a little more thoroughly by the editor.
A fascinating detail in the book is the way the etymology (history and derivation) of the names of the clematis is brought out for many Kivistik cultivars, for example geographical locations in Estonia (Tartu, Kasmu), family members and acquaintances (Tiiu, Jaan), nature (Piilu), etc.
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poradnik o katalog o zestawienia o systematyka, Eskspert W Ogradzie, Pierwsze W Polsce Kompendium Weidzy O Pnaczach
Published 2008 by MULTICO Oficyna Wydawnicza, Warzawa, Poland, 280 pages, 639 photographs, language Polish, hardback, 21.5 cms × 26.5 cms, ISBN 978 83 7073 409 1. Price 55 Polish Zloty (~13 Euros, ~12 GBP)
Reviewed by Wim Snoeijer
Szczepan Marczy?ski kindly presented me a copy of his book on his visit to the nursery in Boskoop on August 7th 2008. Clearly it is a book form of the author's website and what he grows at his wholesale nursery in Poland. And for those that do not know; the nursery also grows climbing plants, from kiwi fruit to climbing roses as well as a lot of Clematis.
When you know Szczepan and when you are familiar with his website you know in advance what the book will be like; the content is both outstanding and overwhelming. This becomes obvious just by looking at the front cover. There is so much information in the book, I hope it does not put the gardener off buying a copy or indeed a plant.
And when you are finally at the end of the A-Z plant listing you will come to pages of tables on all kinds of matters which I fortunately do not understand as I do not read Polish.
The number of photographs is enormous and, except for a couple, are all taken by Szczepan, an exceptional task. The colours of the flowers are, in general, very good (the violet-blue flowers of 'The President' are as good as a photograph) and I can not remember that I have ever seen such an exquisite photograph of the fruits of Akebia quinata as on page 11. Of course there are general chapters as in any plant book on cultivation, pest and diseases, etc. The pictures taken of climbing plants in gardens, in houses, in streets, etc. provide an extra bonus to experience a little bit of Polish life. There are some drawings too, very clear indeed, and probably the best hardiness map of Europe on pages 22-23 that I have ever seen.
The number of pictures is more than enough to justify a copy, even for those that cannot read Polish. Considering the quality of the cover and paper, the very modern and easy to understand lay-out and the quality of colour printing, it is unbelievable that the book costs only 55 Polish Zloty.
My sincere compliments to Szczepan.
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Published 2008 by Prisma, Stockholm, Sweden. www.prismabok.se, 160 pages, 113 photographs, language Swedish, hardback, 19.5 cms × 23.5 cms, ISBN 978-91-518-4590-6. Price 290 Swedish Kroner (~27 Euros, ~25.50 GBP)
Reviewed by Wim Snoeijer
The cultivars listed are divided into two groups, "small flowering clematis" and "large flowering clematis". Within the &small flowering clematis" the cultivars are further divided into groups. Listing cultivars this way needs a very good index, otherwise a gardener that bought 'Emilia Plater' for instance is not able to find the description as the cultivar is described in the Viticella Group in the "small flowering clematis" chapter. But unfortunately an A-Z index is missing. There is an index, but this is in flower colour order. So, you can only find the page on which 'Emila Plater' is described if you know the cultivar has pale blue flowers.
This index, by the way, on 2½ pages gives a good overview if a gardener wants to choose a clematis by colour and there is also a list of fragrant clematis, very helpful.
A lot of the pictures are full page sized and most are good. I also like the layout in combination with the page-sized pictures. One or two pictures are out of focus, for example 'Nelly Moser' on page 35 but the picture of 'Asao' on page 119 is a little gem. The picture of 'Natacha' on page 19 covers the whole page and I guess is the most important picture in the book.
The cultivars with their descriptions and pictures take most of the pages of the book, 95 pages. The other pages are general chapters like care and planting and combinations with other plants. I do not read Swedish but there is a chapter devoted to three famous Swedish Clematarians; John Gudmundsson, Tage Lundell and Magnus Johnson. This chapter is surely well worth translating into English for the Journal.
Clearly the book is meant for the Swedish market and will, no doubt, boost the interest in Clematis.
This book review was written based on signed copy kindly send to me by Krister Cedergren.
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Comment les planter. Quelles variétés choisir. Comment les tailler.
Published September 2006 by l'Ami des jardins et de la maison. Hors-série. Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, 83 pages, 219 photographs, language French, paperback, 21 cms × 28.5 cms, ISBN 1277-7765. Price 6.90 Euros (~6.50 GBP)
Reviewed by Wim Snoeijer
The author is known for his prize winning book Clématites which he wrote together with Arnoud Travers and published in 2001.
This publication is similar to a magazine, part of a series on several gardening and plant issues of at least 24 different issues. As can be expected with such a series, the normal general topics are included but are quite brief. However the range is very wide, from habitat, different flower shapes, planting and cultivation and fragrant clematis. I particularly liked the brief chapter on combinations between clematis and other plants.
The pictures are quite reasonable although a few are over-coloured. All pictures seem to be of French origin.
For such a low cost the buyer gets a good amount of information.
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Woolfenden and
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