Hi Gardengal, I went and saw him Friday at Watson's nursery in Puyallup. I felt the same. It was all just basic information. If you were new to clematis it would be very informational. To gardeners like us who have been growing clematis for years it was nothing new. He was very pleasant though and I loved his English accent. I also bought his book and had him sign it. Our facility didn't have a slide show either. I used willpower and didn't buy any new clematis. They did have a lot of his clematis for sale. I will see how the 2 patio clematis I have of his do this year. They did miserable last year. They both got wilt and only produced about 4 flowers each. I am hoping they will live up to their reputation this year. Karen

I also attended his lecture this morning and to be honest, nothing he talked about was new to me, either. It was pretty basic. I was hoping to hear some more details about breeding and the thinking behind it.

I was expecting lots of people there to see him and I even expected there might be TV crews, too. (Since he is like my rock star! lol) But the lecture group was pretty small and cozy.

It was very nice to see the actual person who creates beautiful clematises.

I only pre-purchased one of his clematises (it's one I already have, Avant-Garde, but mine is in bad shape - either way I don't mind having two) and picked up a couple of other cool native plants like Erythronium 'albidum,' etc.

All in all, it was worth going to, I think. Not sure my husband would agree, but that's a different story. :)

peppa, you must have been at the same presentation I attended!! It would have been fun to hook up with other Seattle area GW'ers :-))

I was kind of surprised at the quality of the presentation. It was rather TOO basic in my opinion and he really didin't talk at all about how he goes about creating these new varieties or even discussed many of them at any length. And if no slides or blooming plants were available (there were a few), some large visuals would have been nice. It was pretty much a buy, buy, buy kind of deal but with no real informational incentive to do so.

flowerfan, I'm surprised you haven't had much success with his clems. I have been very impressed with my Picardy patio clematis in the two seasons I've had it - a very compact and heavy bloomer with no problems. But what has really knocked me out is Harlow Carr, which is a blooming machine!! In its first season last year, purchased midspring in full bloom and planted in a container, it bloomed nonstop until late summer. I've since planted it out into the garden and was surprised at the abundance and quality of the root development at that time and the multiple new stems it has produced. Its current location is not quit as exposed as it was in the container so I am anticipating a bit later initial bloom, but have high hopes it will continue last year's performance.

I also just recently purchased Guernsey Cream, which is one of the first introductions from his breeding program. I bought this one at work with my employee discount for a ridiculously low price so whatever it does will be great. I'm still hunting around for the right location to display those pale cream colored flowers......I'm thinking I might plant it to grow into my Diablo ninebark.

Hi Gardengal, yes I am not sure why my patio clematis did so poorly. I have then planted in 20 gallon pots with other perennials in a sunny spot. I gave then rose fertilizer and lots of water. I planted them in the fall of 06. They both were full of buds and then they got wilt. I kept them watered and they grew back and threw out a few blooms before frost. I am hoping they will grow well this year.

I really like hearing how new varieties perform in the PNW. My garden is full of antique varieties of clematis, mostly from the mid 1800's. I really don't have room for many more. I was thinking about replacing some of my antique varieties with the new longer blooming varieties, if they do indeed bloom all summer. Harlow Carr seems to be a winner in your yard. Any other newer varieties that bloom a long time in your yard? I do have Polish spirit and John Paul II which are newer varieties, and they bloomed from June till frost for me last year. What were your longest bloomers last summer? Karen

{{gwi:584115}}
Versailles with wilt

Despite Evison's recommendations to combine them with other plants, I prefer my container grown clematis to be on their own :-)) Don't know if this has anything to do with their success but it's worth considering. And I do follow inground planting recommendations on planting them deeper than they are in the nursery pots - I think that's a big help.

I tend not grow too many of the LFH's - I tend more to the species and the viticellas or their hybrids as I prefer smaller but more plentiful blooms. Of the LFH's, Belle of Woking is easily my best performer, budding up now and will continue blooming through the summer. There were still flowers on her last November! But she's about 25 years old and planted next to the bunny condo so has a ready source of fertilizer at all times :-) Otherwise, orientalis and any of my viticellas offer a very long bloom season, stretching from around late June early July to frost, sometimes beyond. And of course Harlow Carr, which I am really impresssed with.

Sorry about the quality of the information that was presented GG. I also bought his last book after I believe you mentioned it here and found it to basically be a book where he promoted mostly his clematis in it. I guess Evison is trying to appeal to the masses as far as his presentations go. I do have quite a few of his clematis in my garden. I purchased the whole series named after RHS gardens from Van Bourgondiens several years ago. I like all of them, but especially Harlow Carr. She is one blooming machine, but then I am partial to purple! Wisely and Rosemoor are also good performers in my garden.

gardengal, yes, I think that we were at the same lecture and I agree that it would be fun to chat with other Seattle area GW'ers!

To be honest, I wasn't too surprised that his lecture was pretty basic and sort of salesman-like. (Although I thought that he could have done a little better of a job introducing his new clematis).

Realistically, rather than a seminar, this was a promotion tour for his book and his new clematis, and I'm sure the goal was to sell as many of each as possible. And like nckwilledudes said, the target of his lecture was the general public, not enthusiasts. If this lecture had been given at a clematis conference or something, I probably would have been disappointed. :)

GG, for what it's worth I have 3 Palettes that I bought early last summer in containers on my balcony. They really didn't do anything last year, while my Mme Julia Correvon, which I bought later in the season, went absolutely nuts with new growth and blooms. So far this year the Palettes aren't growing as fast as my other clems. We'll see what they wind up doing this summer, but they haven't quite blown my socks off just yet.

I attended his lecture in Portland on Sunday and I can agree that the lecture was very basic. But I don't mind a little self promotion because he convinced me I've been short changing his new introductions. I've never been willing to purchase any of the Patio series because of the price but as the collection grows I can see there are varieties I probably will invest in. The exciting info for me was the Flora Collection with the very petite dwarf clems that fit in the front of a perennial bed. I'm looking for Bijou this spring and really anticipating Filigree for next summer.
We all must realize that smaller yards are a reality, at least in the Portland metro area. Ease seems to be very important to the younger, new gardener and the nursery industry knows they need to address those issues. How many novice gardeners bypass clems because of pruning confusion? And for me, these new introductions allow me to purchase more clems to fit in my existing space!