International
Clematis
Society
Welcome to all Clematis Lovers
Members Seed Exchange
The Seed Exchange List for 2023-24 is now available for seed orders from members. We have a bumper selection of seeds this year - thank you very much to everyone who has donated to the Exchange - so why not take a look and try your hand at growing clematis from seed. Unlike seed from species clematis, seed from hybrids probably won't come true to form, they can sometimes still give very pleasing and interesting results. For the list, and details how to request seed, please click on Seeds 2023-24. But be quick, you need to place your order by 1st January 2024, as sorting and then distributing seeds will start immediately in the New Year.
France 2024 - Celebrating 40 Years of the International Clematis Society
The International Clematis Society was founded in 1984, and we will celebrate our 40th Anniversary with a meeting in Loire, France in June 2024. Initial details were presented to attendees of the webinar held on Wednesday 28th November. This webinar was recorded and is now available on our 40th Anniversary Meeting page. This will be the first meeting of the Society in France and we're very excited about the possibilities. The meeting is open to all members of the Society, but due to the logistics, space will be limited. The meeting will be held from 7th to 15th June 2024 in the Loire region of France. Attendees will need to make their own travel arrangements to the starting location in Tours. Note, there is a good train service here from Paris. The brochure and booking details, with confirmed costs, is hoped to be distributed to all members within the next two or three weeks, that is before Christmas. As well as the webinar recording, I have retained the original text giving our initial ideas on the itinerary, please visit Future Events. See also the Fall Newsletter 2023.
Webinars
The webinar, "Clematis Varieties - 30 Years of Breeding" by Szczepan Marczyński, held on 8th November 2023, was very successful. Open to members and the public, nearly 80 people listened to Szczepan discuss his goals for breeding good clematis. The recording of this is now available at the Webinars page on this website. More webinars coming up in the near future are as follows."Clematis as Cut Flowers" - Brigitte Niemela & Fiona Woolfenden
Tuesday 5th December 2023, 1.00 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time / 18:00 UK time, 19:00 mainland Europe
Webinar for Society Members only. You will find the Zoom link in the forthcoming Fall Newsletter 2023.Society members Brigitte Niemela and Fiona Woolfenden team up to discuss and demonstrate using clematis in your floral designs.
Brigitte lives in the Swabian Alps, Germany. She has more than 300 clematis in her garden, along with numerous roses, perennials and bulb flowers. She'll show how to prepare clematis for vase life, how to use the wide range of flower shapes available, and how to use seed heads and leaves.
Fiona Woolfenden, UK, will share a straightforward spring design, using clematis from Marginpar, a Dutch cut flower producer. She will also share videos from Marginpar showing how their clematis are grown in Africa, transported to Europe, and distributed around the world."The Legacy of Clematis integrifolia: An Illustrated Celebration of Influential Clematis" by Linda Beutler and Maurice Horn
Saturday 3rd February 2024, 1.00 p.m. US Eastern Standard Time / 18:00 UK time, 19:00 mainland Europe
This webinar is open to the public. The Zoom link will be published on this website in the New Year.Even accomplished gardeners may be unaware that not all clematis climb. The most noteworthy of these is Clematis integrifolia. One of the first species to be used in European clematis breeding, often with Clematis viticella. This presentation will examine the history of this species, how to use it in gardens, and the amazing hybrids and selections available today.
Membership Fee Increase
Around this time every year the Society reviews the current membership rates. This year it has been decided that we need to increase the rates by £3 on the UK Pound Sterling rate, which is slightly less than 10%. This is the first increase made since August 2017. Increases in other currencies reflects current exchange rates. Over the last few years inflation has affected just about everything we do and without this, our Treasurer has calculated that we would be running at a loss. There is a fully explanation in the forthcoming newsletter.
Clematis International
Clematis International 2023, the latest issue of our journal, has been posted out to all Society members. There has been a problem with a very small number of members in mainland European countries but we are looking to sort out early in the New Year. My thoughts are now turning to Clematis International 2024 and what articles I can publish. So as we move steadily through into winter, perhaps you have a little more free time to think about something you could write for the next journal. It could be scientific, but on the other hand it could be your observations of your garden, what you grow and how you grow it. Please let me know of your ideas. And do not worry if you believe your English is not quite up to scratch, that's one of my jobs as editor.
The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 - Seventh Supplement
This latest supplement to the International Clematis Register is now available online. In line with the continued expansion of internet usage and with an eye to reducing paper usage and cost, it is suggested that you download it for free from the RHS website, just visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/plantsmanship/plant-registration/clematis-registration/clematisInternational Clematis Society on Social Media
For some time the Society has had a presence on the social media platform, Facebook. I'm pleased to announce that now you can also find us on Instagram. On both of these you will find updates on what's happening in our garden in the UK as well as clematis news from other members. All you need do is click on either of the two logos below.
The International Clematis Registrar, and the International Clematis Register and Checklist
The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002, which went out of print some time ago, is available in electronic format. One benefit of this is that it allows text searching. Details for The Register and all seven supplements can be found via the RHS website at https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/plantsmanship/plant-registration/Clematis-registration/Clematis. However because of the file size of the Register itself, approximately 25 Mbytes, it cannot be downloaded from the RHS web site in the same way that the supplements can. To help the RHS and reduce their workload, Society members wanting a copy should email Ken Woolfenden, I.Cl.S. Webperson and Editor, at icls editor, who will return a download link. The Society fully endorses the work of the International Clematis Registrar, The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 and the six supplements published so far. We recommend all clematis lovers use the standards they describe. There is, of course, still a need for all Clematis breeders, both professionals and amateurs, to register your Clematis cultivars with the Registrar to continue to keep the International Clematis Register up to date. If you want a copy of the form, information about it is available at the Clematis Registration Form.Recommended Clematis
The Society's Clematis for Beginners List is now Recommended Clematis, reflecting the wider usefulness of this set of clematis cultivars for all clematis growers around the world. It was reviewed and revised during our meeting in Devon and Cornwall in 2015. It is available online and also as a downloadable version from our Recommended Clematis section, in Dutch, English, French, German and Swedish All the clematis on the list are easy to grow, easy to look after and resistant to common pests and diseases, and whilst there are no absolute guarantees where gardening is concerned, most people should have success with all of these. Because space is not so much of a problem, the online version of the list now contains more information about each clematis featured within it, along with a simple menu bar to let you see each group and then pick the clematis you're interested in. The downloadable version (no illustrations as yet, I'm afraid) is very suitable for taking with you when you visit your local nursery or garden centre!Journal Index of Clematis References
A reminder of a facility which I'm sure many of you will find most useful - an index of references to all the clematis mentioned in the journals of the Society, both in the text and as pictures. I am indebted to Ton Hannink for all the work he has put into producing the first issue of this index. The index currently covers the years 2005 - 2014 inclusive. Further years will be added as they are completed. Whilst it is quite a large document, some 29 pages, it is not a particularly large file to download should you wish, just under 220 Kbytes. You can find it by visiting the Previous Journals page.RHS Clematis Catalogue Collection
The Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain holds a collection of Nursery Catalogues and have been keen to add to it. A number of years ago the Society was asked to canvas our members for any Clematis Nursery catalogues which they had and would donate to the collection, which we did. Quite a few have been donated so far. Whilst he was the International Clematis Registrar, Duncan Donald extracted a list of catalogues from Clematis Specialists which are currently within the collection and a list of catalogues which feature clematis, but under such headings as "climbing plants" or "climbers". You can find them at RHS Clematis Catalogue Collection and RHS Climbers and Climbing Plant Catalogue Collection. Links to both these files can also be found via the "Information, Answers and Questions" link on the left of this page. The Society has asked where further donated catalogues should be sent. As soon as we have this information it will be publish here.Nursery Membership
The Society offers a second category of membership - Nursery Membership. So far we have been very pleased with the support that many nurseries have given by renewing as Nursery Members. We thank them all. These Nursery Members can be found on a special Nursery Members page on this website. The Society hopes you will recognize that, as members of this Society, these Nursery Members have a particular interest, knowledge and love of clematis and can be expected to provide a range and quality of plants, and informed knowledge, not usually available in non-specialist outlets. Please check this page regularly for additions. Whilst it is now too late for your nursery details to be included in Clematis International 2011, any further Nursery Memberships will be published on this website as they are received and also in the List of Members when it is reissued at the beginning of next year.Trialing New Clematis
An example of a Clematis Trial contract, mentioned in the article in Clematis International 2008 about trialing new clematis by well-known clematis breeder, Wim Snoeijer, can be downloaded by visiting the A.O.B. (Any Other Business) page accessible from our Information, Answers and Questions section.How do you pronounce .....
If you're uncertain how to pronounce some clematis names, why not visit Clematis on the Web. A number of cultivar entries now have a helpful "how to say" feature. A classic example is probably C. 'Mrs Cholmondeley'. How do you pronounce this? Just take a look at Clematis on the Web - Mrs Cholmondeley, click on the loudspeaker icon and find out for yourself. This is an extreme example but I'm sure there are many others that people may be unsure of, but don't like to ask. Now you can find out in the privacy of your own home.General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR
This Regulation applies to all organizations, large and small, that store personal data of EU and UK citizens electronically. A draft Privacy Policy was drawn up and discussed at a previous Council Meeting. We are still working on modifications and amendments. Once completed and the resulting document is agreed by your Council, it will be released to all members and posted in this website. The Society is committed to complying with this regulation. Should any member have any questions or concerns regarding it, please contact our designated Data Controller, Ken Woolfenden.And finally ....
The ethos of the Internet is to be an open forum for ideas, views and opinions. Sites should encourage visitors to link to other sites, it's a two-way process. So if you've got a few moments, why not look at our Clematis Links page and follow up one or two. You may find a lot more than you were expecting!For any non-members visiting this site, have you considered joining the Society? With plans for some very interesting meetings over the next few years there couldn't be a better time. For details, visit our How to Join page.
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