An ACS Book Review
Clematis For Small Spaces
Author: Raymond J. Evison
Copyright 2007
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 13: 978-0881928518
Hardcover: 272 pages
Price: $34.95
Since I own almost every clematis book written in English I have not seen any one book that has come up with the proverbial “new” mouse trap on the subject (with an obvious bias when it comes to my second book) so last year, when I saw Amazon.com featuring an upcoming clematis book entitled Clematis for Small Spaces, I was pleased by the idea that something a little different would be written about my favorite genus.
Since I have a relatively small space in which to garden, I am the perfect candidate for such a book. From the title I expected that this book would be mainly focusing on growing clematis in containers and for gardeners with limited areas such as patios, porches and decks. I confess I must have a different idea than the author does of what constitutes a small space because I would admittedly not feel comfortable suggesting to patio gardeners to grow montana, terniflora, tangutica, armandii, etc. since they can reach 20 feet. Which means those particular clematis could swallow the whole space with only one plant. So, I admit I am somewhat perplexed as to why these clematis are in his lineup.
This is Raymond Evison’s fifth book about clematis and it contains much of the same information offered in his previous books. The book has some nice suggestions for companion plantings. The photography and the coloring of the 150 pictures are very nice. Clematis for Small Spaces profiles about 173 clematis and forty-one of them are ones that the author has bred. Mr. Evison must be proud of his clematis so no doubt he wants them to be popular. Unfortunately, I found the references to his new introductions throughout the book to be almost like an infomercial. But what parent doesn’t want to show off their kids?
Raymond Evison’s book is written for gardeners living in USDA Zones 4 through 9 (with a few references to Zone 3). He has the customary cultural information about feeding, watering, pruning, etc. that is found in other British books. He uses the blooming periods based in Great Britain as one of the features of his book, so the data will not be useful to those of us who garden in USDA Zones 10 and 11.
The one thing I am very skeptical about in this book is the claims he makes in the chapter entitled, Clematis for Indoors. Knowing what the cultural requirements for growing clematis are, I would suggest that attempting to grow them indoors would at best be risky and at least take a lot of effort. My personal experience with attempting to grow a C. Viennetta indoors was less than a success.
As it turns out, according to the author, your indoor clematis’ still need to spend a majority of their life either outdoors, in a greenhouse or in a conservatory to receive the cultural requirements that would possibly permit them to bloom indoors. The hoops you would have to jump through to possibly grow his clematis indoors may not be worth the effort.
The “indoor” clematis’ from Raymond’s collection have been originally grown in state-of- the-art greenhouses. When you purchase one and you bring it indoors, it must acclimate to completely different surroundings such as considerably less lighting, dry heat, air conditioning and/or a lack of humidity. If you are fortunate enough to have a conservatory or own a greenhouse, you might want to give his plants a try. My experience though is that trying to grow clematis’ as well as any other plant that is traditionally an outdoor plant, indoors is playing Russian Roulette with your plant’s welfare.
In the end, I would recommend this book to gardeners who want a written source which delves heavily into Mr. Evison’s new introductions. You can also find the information on his website: http://www.guernsey-clematis.co.uk/