The Joy of Clematis
Book Review: The Plant Lover’s Guide to Clematis, by Linda Beutler
So there is good news and bad news about this book. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Turns out that the correct pronunciation is CLEM-a-tis, not cle-MAT-is. Which means I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life, no doubt causing more sophisticated gardeners to snigger behind my back.
Perhaps, I hoped, the author lacks the jurisdiction to make such a pronouncement. Sadly, it turns out that Linda Beutler is president of the International Clematis Society, as well as curator of a famous Clematis collection. So I guess she knows what she’s talking about.
We must therefore swallow our pride and move on. The good news is that this book is an excellent companion for people who love Clematis, or who might be about to fall in love with them.
I may well be in the second category. First we got the Jackman Clematis (Clematis jackmanii), which turned into our Great Wall of Purple. Then there was ‘Ice Blue’ on the back garden arch. Then came ‘Multi-Blue’ in the Tomato and Herb Bed, then ‘Betty Corning’ in the Driveway Border. Will I be able to stop at four varieties? Time will tell, but it’s probably not a safe bet.
The Plant Lover’s Guide to Clematis is divided into four sections, starting with how to design with this surprisingly diverse genus. Surprisingly, the Geneva Convention does not require gardeners to grow Clematis up a trellis. Depending on the species, they can be grown on trees, roses, shrubs, even sturdy perennials.
The author then provides an overview of the genus, with its roughly 300 species divided into groups and subgroups. This makes for surprisingly interesting reading. Clematis species come from a wide variety of environments, all over the Northern Hemisphere. I might suggest, though, that if the book has a second edition adding a chart would be helpful to some of us.
The heart of the book is a guide to 196 varieties of Clematis for the garden. Here you will find luscious photos and useful summaries. The significant number of large-flowered varieties that are shade tolerant came as a surprise to me.
I can imagine consulting this part of the book for an informed second opinion should I find myself perusing catalogs for a new Clematis variety.
Finally, there is a discussion of growing and propagating Clematis that I found immensely useful. For one thing, it helped me to control a nasty case of Clematis Pruning Anxiety Disorder (known to clinicians as CLEMPAD).
Also, it enabled me to figure out what was eating the flowers of ‘Ice Blue’ (answer: earwigs), and what to do about it.
Linda Beutler writes with humor, directness, and expertise. This makes The Plant Lover’s Guide to Clematis a fast read. Here’s a sample of her writing on the bothersome subject of pruning:
Don’t follow a formula, don’t figure a third or a half – in fact, avoid fractions altogether. Just observe the vine, find the live nodes, and cut off what seems excessive, always making your cuts right above a pair of likely-looking buds … the worst that will happen is that your clematis will flower later in the season.
This is definitely a good book for Clematis lovers to read and to keep around for future reference.
gardeninacity 
I’ve been saying Clematis wrong all my life too! I adore your photos of the Great Wall of Clematis!
Thank you! I’m glad I’m not alone!
Well I’m sold on the Clematis, and I’ve seen it growing in a garden out of town here with very little water, so it must be quite adaptable. But, your prolific purple Clematis must be in JUST the right spot.
I think there is a lot of variation in terms of the conditions preferred by different species in the genus.
I’ll look locally, but yours is a winner!
Hi Jason. I think my pronunciation is almost the same as yours (clu-may-tus) and I also get annoyed when people ‘in the know’ say it differently! I have just been looking it up on the internet and have found the following:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/grannysgarden/2354/The-Clematis-Pronunciation-Debate/
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/pronunciation/british/clematis
http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2006/05/clematis-by-any-other-pronunciation.html
And Wikipedia says:
The standard pronunciation of clematis is considered to be /ˈklɛmətɪs/ (klem-ə-tiss). Other pronunciations include /kləˈmætɪs/ (kləm-at-iss) and, particularly in the UK, /kləˈmeɪtɪs/ (klə-may-tiss).
So you can breathe out and continue to say it how you want! Nice review – sounds like a good book for reference.
Thanks for the thorough research! Though I was just starting to get used to KLEM-a-tis.
The little bells with recurved petals, like your Betty Corning, are my favorites. Are you headed to the Bloggers Fling? If so, I’m looking forward to those posts. I’ll be at GWA in Atlanta in September, but am wallowing in family joy over the next weeks. We have a wedding coming up!
Congratulations! Sorry I’ll miss you in Minneapolis.
Be sure to kept us informed on the results of your pruning of the Great Wall of Purple as to rebloom. I am curious .I believe I have 15 clematis and counting, not all are displayed as nicely as yours!
Wow, 15 is a lot! Where do you put them all?
I’m so glad you reviewed this book because I adore Clem-a-tis! 🙂 I was corrected a few years ago on the pronunciation. Maybe it will roll of the tongue in a few more years but I still have to think about it every time I say it. This book is on my wish list. See you both next week at the Fling?
Definitely! Looking forward to seeing you in Minneapolis!
Yep, I can be counted in to the Clematis fan club. I like any and all of them. This sounds like a book I need to read.
You’d enjoy it, I think.
Jason, what a well-written review. Perhaps with this book I could learn which clematis might bloom all summer in my garden. That would make me happy.
That would make anyone happy. Glad you liked the review.
Sounds great! Clematis are my favourite flowering vine. And I still say clem-AH-tiss and ain’t gonna stop, okay?
Fight the power!
Does Ms Beutler have anything to say about autumn-flowering clematis? It was already in the garden when we bought the house. It’s pretty, but a nuisance, popping up all over the place and joining with bindweed, wild grape, and virginia creeper in taking over surrounding flowers, shrubs, and trees.
I think autumn-flowering clematis is considered invasive. It’s generally not recommended. Sorry.
Oh, Jason! I feel your pain. I have such a habit of mispronouncing words that it sometimes feels as though English is my second language, even though it isn’t. But miracle of miracles, I have been correctly pronouncing clematis, a flower I adore but cannot grow at the little house in the big woods. Any way you pronounce the word, clematis is a beautiful flower, and I gaze at your pictures with envy and admiration.
Botanical pronunciation is full of nasty traps.
It’s a specialty at Joy Creek. I’d say the majority of customers say kle-MA-tis, often with some embarrassment over maybe saying it wrong. I always say, if we know what you’re talking about, that’s all that matters. Then I try to say it their way for as long as I’m talking to them. Now I’m as likely to say it that way as KLEM-ah-tis when I’m not paying attention to what’s coming out of my mouth. I think I should read this book.
I remember visiting the Clematis at Joy Creek. Really opened my eyes as to the diversity of the genus.
I’m astounded each year by the different clematis blossoms I see, in shapes and colors that I never imagined.
I’m glad you’re over the clemsad. It’s hard to destroy a vigorous clematis, even if you pruned it right back to ground level.
As with many things, in gardening it is best not to worry excessively.
I would never snigger at your pronunciation of clematis.
In fact, I try to avoid sniggering as a general rule.
The real question is, “How to prounce Beutler?” 😉
tbh, clematis is not my favorite plant, mainly because pollinators and birds seem to ignore them and I tend to prefer plants that weave themselves harmoniously into the ecosystem.
That said, I think some of the native herbaceous clematis vines – mainly C. versicolor for me, down here in Tennessee, http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Clematis%20versicolor.png – are in fact supposed to attract bumblebees, so I do hope to give them a try some point soon. Probably will add a few to the garden this autumn.
The sweet autumn clematis mentioned by another commentator is an invasive exotic plant, but there’s also a native analogue – C. virginiana (http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Clematis%20virginiana.png) that has a reputation as being an … enthusiastic spreader (or a garden thug, depending on whom you ask). I’ve thought about adding it to the garden, but I’m a little scared to try it.
My brother grew C. virginiana. You are right to be afraid.
Sounds like an interesting and useful book.
I thought so.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the pronunciation. Since botanical Latin names are made-up Latin (or, in this case, some weird hybrid of Latin and Greek), I don’t think there’s any such thing as “correct” pronunciation — just some common agreement among gardeners (and this is clearly one genus about which there is a decided lack of consensus!). Anyone who has grown that Great Wall of Purple can pronounce it any way he wants!!
Lovely! Autumn clematis is my favourite because it blooms at a quiet time in the garden and is so fragrant!
It can be a big monster, though, can’t it?
Yes! I cut mine back in December to just a couple of nodes, or about a foot, and they still manage to reseed all over the neighborhood and to regrow to around 10 feet by August blooming time!
I just love Clematis, it has to be either Montana types or the large flowered hybrids. We’ve had a mixed year for Clematis, some have done well while others have once again, caught wilt but are managing to grow through it. Many Clematis were only planted this year and are still establishing and I’m hoping they’ll only get better in time. None come anywhere close to the Jackmanii that towers over you! Still very jealous!
I live in dread of Clematis wilt.
I am ready to begin planting CLEM a tis. My problem has always been the three types with three rules for pruning. But if I carefully choose only Clem a tis with the same pruning needs I should be fine.
This book definitely reduces all that anxiety about pruning!
I’m always pronouncing plant names wrong, it’s a speciality of mine! This sounds like a handy book to have!xxx
I think so, at least if you like Clematis.