International
Clematis
SocietyWelcome to all Clematis Lovers
Special General Meeting
There is a Special General Meeting of the Society on Wednesday 28th May 2025, using Zoom. Details of how to join the meeting, together with the motion to be discussed, have already been sent to all members. This is very important to the future of the Society and we'd like as many members as possible to join the meeting, but if you know you will be unable to do so, please complete and send in your Appointment of Proxy form NOW!
David Chitty - to 2025
I understand that David Chitty, member of this Society for more than 10 years, died on 31st March 2025. I don't know a lot his interest in clematis, but he was obviously keen on growing clematis from seeds and made good use of the Society Seed Exchange over the years, donating generously towards it's costs. The Society sends our condolences to his family and friends.
Constitutional General Meeting
This was held on 28th January 2025 using Zoom technology. Several new Council Officers and Members, including a new President of the Society, were elected along with the re-election of a number of existing officers and members. Please click on Council Officers and Council Members for details. A recording of the meeting is now available on the Members Only Web Page. A link to the Minutes of the meeting was contained in the Spring newsletter.
Membership Renewal
There are still too many members of the Society who have not yet renewed their membership for 2025. Sending reminders is time consuming, a lot of avoidable effort, and falls to a very small number of dedicated volunteers. So please check and, if you haven't already renewed for 2025, do so now. Please note that unless you have renewed, you will be ineligible to vote in the forthcoming Special General Meeting.
Clematis Weekend in Germany in September 2025
As has been mentioned, Benedikt Herian, Brigitte Niemela and Wim Snoeijer are organising a weekend meeting in Unterliezheim, Germany in September 2025. Please note, this is completely independent of this Society, although they are all members. The second information sheet has been produced and is available here by clicking on Clematis Meeting Unterliezheim 2025 - Information Sheet 2. The first information sheet is still available, please click on Clematis Meeting Unterliezheim 2025 - Information Sheet 1.
Members Seed Exchange 2024 - 25
Seed distribution continues to those members who have requested some. It is worth keeping an eye on the List of Available Seeds as, even once the deadline for seed requests has passed, sometimes more seeds arrives. However, so far this year, this has not been the case. The Society says a huge "Thank You" to the three Seed Exchange Administrators who have worked hard over the last three years to make this happen - Mike Miller (USA/Canada), Ingrid Kastell (EU-Sweden), and Guy Opie (Great Britain).
Clematis International 2025
Work is proceeding on our next journal, Clematis International 2025 albeit slowly. I'll provide another update next month.The International Clematis Registrar, The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002, and Supplements
The Society fully endorses the work of the International Clematis Registrar, The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002 and the seven supplements published so far. We recommend all clematis lovers use them and adhere to standards they describe. A reminder that all supplements as well as The International Clematis Register and Checklist 2002, are 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 them for free from the RHS website, just visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/plantsmanship/plant-registration/clematis-registration/clematis. The Society also strongly recommends that all Clematis breeders, both professionals and amateurs, 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, use the link above and click on the Registration tab.
International Clematis Society on Social Media
The Society has a presence on the social media platforms, Facebook and 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.
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.
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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