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Welcome to the official website of the American Clematis Society
For over a decade we have dedicated ourselves to promoting and understanding growing clematis in the United States.
In 2010 we hope to keep growing as a society as we did in 2009. As new varieties of clematis arrive, we will continue to evaluate them and provide descriptions and photographs. We will also keep an eye on the relatively young introductions and keep you current on their level of performance. Hopefully, the doom and gloom of the past year is behind us and we can all look forward to a fulfilling year, not only in the garden, but in our own lives.
2009-2010 BUYER’S GUIDE
We have updated our ACS buyer’s guide on the website (http://clematis.org/learn/buyers_guide). This is the 6th edition and just as in the first one in 2000 our goal is to offer our members and other clematis gardeners as many different choices of clematis vendors as possible to select from.
I love Consumer Reports and Cook’s Illustrated magazines because both of these publications evaluate items in a non-biased fashion. I wish we could do this with clematis but because they are living organisms and there are so many variables involved, this is the closest way that I could think of to give companies that sell clematis the opportunity to show clematis gardeners what they have to offer. Just as I have in the past, I contacted every American clematis nursery I could find that sells more than one or two. In October, 2008, I invited 35 mail order nurseries to participate. If I missed any it was purely an oversight and I would love to include them if they contact me. As in the past, I am surprised by the clematis companies that did not choose to participate because I think it is win-win for everyone and it does not cost them a dime (okay maybe the cost of postage to send us a copy of their catalog for verification of facts). So, if you do not see information about a nursery listed in the Buyer’s Guide, it is their choice not ours. Here’s hoping that they will come on board in 2011-2012.
As more and more gardeners are growing clematis in USDA Zones 10 & 11 it is sad to see that there has been little headway made with vendors when it comes to the zoning assigned to clematis for growing them in warmer locales. To date there are only 2 nurseries that have taken the step in the right direction. So, I would like to give them special recognition. In 2001, Brushwood Nursery was the very first nursery to recognize that most clematis can prosper in USDA Zones 4 through 11 and they posted the correct growing zones on their website. Last year Bluestone Perennials also came on board. So, I would personally like to thank both of them for their free-minded thinking because it tells more gardeners that they have the ability to grow clematis.
You may have noticed five stars next to the names of mail order nurseries. In 2009, when we revamped our website to include the Member’s Only section, we included a “popularity poll” to give ACS members a chance to vote for the nurseries of their choice. These rating are not unbiased but, since our members are the gardeners who are buying clematis, I feel they should have a method to weigh in on their experiences and be counted. I welcome any of our new or veteran members who have not yet voted to do so. Remember, you only get one vote, so make it count.