A new way to look at clems

Many times, we've seen photos of gorgeous clems standing as crowning pieces of a garden, solitary in their beauty. They have their own dedicated support and their bases are clear of clutter or other plants. They look grand. We wish we could have something like that in our own garden, but sadly, we believe there is no space. I believed this thinking for a long time, and it prevented me from exploring the clem world for quite a while. I thought my garden, and my budget, were too small to have a worthy clem display. But, there is a hybridizer who is working hard to change that way of thinking. He has done book tours and he has hosted radio programs throughout the U.S. in an effort to dispel the myths that gorgeous clem displays are just for the lucky few who have grand gardens.

Here is an interview with that hybridizer, Raymond Evison, regarding his philosophy on planting and caring for clematis. For me, Evison's work has inspired me to change my way of thinking about clems. Sure, I still admire the large specimin plants that I see in pictures, but for me, I am much happier with the more intimate, personal feel of a well-loved small garden that engulfs you in beauty. The interview has some extremely helpful information that might surprise you... such as planting other plant material right with your clematis rather than leaving a space around the base. There's also specific information related to container growing. Click on the YouTube link and then press the arrow in the center of the screen if you'd like to view it:

http://www.youtube.com/v/ZFY4yqBJQas

Enjoy! Evey =)

Note: Pic is a potted Ruutel peeking through a mandevilla.

I wish I could see that interview. I'm having PC problems so the link is not working for me. I know a couple of my clems are from the evipo series, and I'm very happy with them. I like the look of a clem rambling through a shrub. I'm hoping that some shorter varieties that I recently ordered will be better suited for that purpose, as the larger ones outpace the shrubs.

Enjoyed that link, well worth a watch!

Thanks,

pajonica

Raymond Evison is a delight on the tape and on radio, where I've heard him speak several times. The idea of clems in hanging baskets is so interesting.

Clematis do not have to grow to 18' for me to enjoy them as this Jackmanii has done several times. This photo was taken on May 25th, 2006 (before a storm ripped off the top of the trellis) and by July had crossed over the top of the copper trellis, down the backside of it and across the three compost bins behind it.

I have a book by Raymond Evison first published in 1979. It is sort of a primer, soft cover monograph type and it is my clematis bible.
He has been breeding clematis probably for about 50 years in Guernsey on the Channel Islands.
I grow clematis on 4-5 foot fences with wires to help them creep along to higher levels if they want( the Group A's do want) and I grow them up tall lattices and funky obelisks and trees and shrubs. Not likely they would ever reach 18 feet but if that was what I wanted they would never be growing in my yard!

Thanks for the link!

Venu, if you go to the You Tube site and search for "Evison Clematis" it is the first one that comes up. It was posted by GardenGuy06. I think you should be able to view it that way.

And to all, you're welcome for the link! Fancyvan, I haven't purchased Evison's 1979 book... yet. I am off to hunt for it now! Thanks for the info. =)

Fancyvan, which book do you have? There are three listed on Amazon that are reprints. None list the original publication date in the description. Do you have "Clematis for Everyone," "Making the Most of Clematis," or "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Clematis"? LOL, I will probably end buying them all, but it would be nice to know which one is your favorite!

Nice link.I bet you will get lots of ideas from his books. Better wear a bib for all the drooling!

Fancyvan, I am relatively new to clems, and would love to have your input on which varieties you have planted and have done the best for you especially since we are in the same growing zone. Any advice and input you can share with me would be great, especially since I have several on order. Thanks!

I have two other Jackmanii clematis and one gets around 6 to 8' and is beautiful while the other (in more shade until we get one limb removed from the tree it's on) isn't as lush but it is about 10' tall. The huge one backs up to the compost bin and I'm sure that's what makes it so lush. It taught me to always use our compost for the clems.

What a wonderful video. It's so gratifying to see my instinctive gardening practices recommended by an expert. I've always surrounded my clematis vines with other plants, partly to shade the roots, but also because I don't really like the look of bare patches of soil or of mulch between plants. Both look so unnatural to me. I started filling every inch of garden space with flowering plants out of necessity when I had a small garden but loved every kind of flower, and I kept that habit after I acquired a larger garden.

I want his entire line of smaller Clematis vines, especially Cassis, Fleuri, and Viennetta.

Here's my favorite Zuzu type of garden - filled with plants and barely any soil to be seen. This was taken in May so it's filled out since then. The lonely trellis really needs a Raymond Evison clematis, doesn't it?

I think Peppermint would be outstanding in that spot Pirl!

Does that do well in shade, Louise?

That I don't know Pirl. I don't have that cultivar yet, but from my experience evipo clems seem to do well in sun or part shade.

I just checked and one UK place said to use a south or west exposure but it also said it was suitable for indoors (there's a new obsession for us!) so outside in a northeast exposure would be worth a try. If it is happy inside it should be much happier outside. I could keep it potted to see how it reacts and if it doesn't like it I can move it.

Pirl, the Evison website actually has a set of clems that are happy indoors. Cool, eh? I was very intrigued when I first saw these mentioned in his book because I certainly would not have thought to grow a CLEMATIS indoors!!! Here's a link to his page about indoor clems on the Evison website:

http://www.raymondevisonclematis.com/main/catalogue.asp?categoryID=6

Nice site Evey, thanks! I didn't realize that Franziska Maria was one of his. She's going on my wish list. Very interesting about the indoor aspect also.

evison has certainly gotten a lot of publicity for clematis and secured registrations for many clematis. interesting that the ones posted here, jackmanii and ruttel are not evison developed clems.

curious, which of the evison cultivars do you clemmers find to be super vigorous and easy to establish? i am interested.
i have never considered evison clems to be on the super vigorous easy to establish list, but i am going thru my lists to check which ones i would categorize as top perfromers, as perhaps my assumption that most of them are not super vigorous is off target. avant garde is perhaps the evison most floriferous and predictable.
he has done a huge amount to get clems into more garden centers thru the patio type marketing. i tried a few of the patio clems and did not find them to be good growers for me. some of you, especially down south may have a different experience, or even that genetically smaller in plant size than some of their predecessors.
lets post our experience and pics of evison clems and compare notes? some of them are notoroiusly difficult, which of course does not stop me from having them in my collection! would love to know more about how the evison clems have established and flourished for some of you.which ones are vigorous, floriferoius and relatively easy to establish?
pretty garden, pirl.

LOL, I just realized that one of the books I found when looking for the one Fancyvan has is in that photo for the indoor clem collection. Fancyvan, is that the same book cover as the one you have?

of course, out of the selection he has bred, joesphine is one of the first classics. galore , the old violcea venosa that he trademarked as galore(new and improved i am sure) is a winner for sure.
some of them such as anna louise are very difficult to grow. but that is part of the challenge of clems, no? and if you want to collect you will try to grow them. i have given up an ann louise however! but poulala (AKA evithree or alabast ) remains one of my favorites in the garden even tho it is a lang establishment and a short bloom period it is truly a pretty clem.

look forward to finding out which ones are hitting home runs with clem growers on the forum.

Isn't it funny Bliss, when we find things without looking. Our humidity is tapering off here and the sun is out. I'm going to go look for the Atlantic ;)

This message was edited Aug 24, 2009 9:40 AM

What great timing since the porch/sunroom is getting a new clear view glass door today and already has five huge windows. I may never leave home in winter unless Louise wants to baby sit the dog and the plants in return for clems!

Louise - come this way and the Atlantic is just 14 miles east of us! Now, isn't that tempting for winter?

This message was edited Aug 24, 2009 9:40 AM

This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 11:59 AM

Pirl, your place is tempting at any time of year!

Thank you.

The Koi clems have put on an inch of growth in the one week they've been here!

This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 12:00 PM

Pirl, which ones did you get from Koi? I've found the liners I got from Donahue's to be among my best growers so far. I consistently pinched back for quite a while when they first got here, but once I let them take off, I've only had one hold back on me.... Marie Boisselot. She's green and healthy looking, but just 2" tall still!

Bliss I dont think that is the same book - I cant read the title clearly but mine is called Making the most of Clematis( It is the only clem book I have except for one put out by Clearview whch I like for the list with pics!) Last reprint was in 1989 which is probably when I got mine.I wonder if some of the lack of hardiness that some mentioned is because he is living in the Channels Islands- I dont know the zone but I understand it is a relatively mild climate.
I just checked thru my info pages on clems ( I copy the Clematis on the Web pages) and it appears I dont have any Evison plants!
This indoor potted ones are interesting.

I'll have to look up the list, but he sent NINE plants! I'm so thrilled with them.

Louise - whatever happened with your Vesuvius? I don't recall you posting a photo of it this year. Maybe I just missed it with our craze of planting so much before leaving in June.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 12:01 PM

Here's the list:


montana ELIZABETH

MRS. CHOLMONDELEYt

PERL D'AZURE

ETOILE ROSE

RUBROMARGINATA

PINK CHAMPAGNE

PAGODA

HELSINGBORG

PINK FLAMINGO

I apologize for all the caps but the noise here (with the installation of the new door) is loud and I'd like to escape fast.

This message was edited Aug 23, 2010 12:02 PM

Fun list, Pirl! You've got some I haven't seen available too often. I'll love seeing your bloom posts as they mature.

Fancyvan, thanks for the name. I did find that one last night too.... it looks like they had a few reprints. I purchased the newest one they had listed on Amazon, which I'm fairly certain would be the same info as yours. I believe it would say "Revised" rather than "Reprint" if there had been any text changes. Thanks for the recommendation!

Vesuvius, later redistributed as Galore, is huge. It was so covered in blooms this year that it was hard to see the leaves. I have 2 Galore (Vesuvius) and 1 Anna Louise planted about 5 feet from each other. The three of them cover an arbor and 16 feet of fence. I cut all three of them to the ground about a month ago. They're all back up and growing like gangbusters. If we have a lingering autumn I'll probably get another display.

Hurray for you. It's clear you have the magic touch.

Lovely garden, Pirl. I saw Evison's Fleuri, which Zuzu mentioned, at the Chelsea flower show this year and was really struck by it. Haven't seen it available here anywhere, have you?. I took a picture, but it doesn't capture it, or at least not my memory of it. It's hard enough to capture those colors outside in natural lighting; indoors even harder I think. Anyway, here it is. To be honest, looking at it now I don't know why I went so nuts for it, but I did. Also, in full disclosure, I was truly gaga from seeing all those plants. Didn't have my wits about me.

By the way, Pirl, when someone in England says a plant needs sun or a south facing wall, it's good to remember that full sun in England is nothing like full sun here, or at least for me as we have hot summers (well, not this year, but most). I find that some plants that I consider shade plants here, are listed there as sun plants.

You should see Fleuri available this year. There is finally a licensed grower offering it to retailers for the coming season... but from what I could tell, this is the first time it's been offered (officially) in the states.

Great. Here's another one I truly coveted. Parisienne.

Thanks, wickerparker, they are both lovely but the first one would have the colors to match the plants that blossom in that garden like the Harlequin hydrangea.

That's terrific news, Evey. You're always up on the latest in the clem world! Thanks.

I think this will be the year you see a lot more available here. The growers' lists have a lot of "NEW!" notations on them for the coming season, so I think all the retailers will be snapping them up. The only ones I haven't seen on U.S. trade lists are Chevalier, Diana's Delight, and Ohh La La, but perhaps a smaller grower has them already and I just haven't seen them.

Wow, wickerparker, those are stupendous photos. I have often said no more lavenders, but that Parisienne is astounding!

wickerparker, good to point out the differences in the uk sun , climate, calendar. it is very different over there and a mecca for clems along with the pacific northwest here.
also the clems for the flower show have been grown specifically for that floral bounty at that exact time and not sure how it sometimes translates, and sometimes does not, to the us garden. is that your parisienne or is it from the flower show?

glad to hear someone got some vigor from anna louise, would love to see photos if you can post them! galore is really a hit, amazingly floriferous!