New Book for a Rainy Weekend

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Author Message   Katie  Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:27 am EST :    Since I got about 4 inches of rain this weekend I was very glad that I received my new book, The Genus Clematis by Magnus Johnson before the weekend started. This book is very detailed and has been described for the "serious clematarian only". It is incredibly full of information about clematis. I was very happy to add this book to my collection of clematis books. One thing the author talked about is lime for clematis. While he does state that it is not necessary to lime clematis, they grow fine without it, he does state that lime may deepen the colors of blue in clematis. Since I have acid soil I was considering adding lime this year as an experiment. I now intend to go ahead with this treatment. Then the sun actually did manage to come out Sunday afternoon and I was able to go outside for a while. I trimmed back small one gallon clematis, removing dead leaves. There they were, the first buds of the season! From here on it just gets better and better! Katie Northern California Zone 8   Gardenbug  Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:44 am EST :    Oh Katie....you big tease. It will be MONTHS for me before the good stuff begins!! The snowplows are passing as I type now. Gardenbug Ontario zone 4b/5b   Spider  Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 10:21 am EST :    You'll need more than 4 inches of rain to get through the tome, Janet. A great reference book and we keep discovering new facets to it all the time - such a shame that the great man passed on as there are so many questions one might have liked to ask. It's a pity that it was decided to keep the 'Swedish flavour' of the English in the book, rather than translating it into clear English because sometimes that makes it rather ambiguous - I get the impression that the great Dr would have wanted everything to be as clear as possible but that the 'taste of Sweden' was good for the publishing image. But then, that's just my impression, of course. Spider - North Lincolnshire, Zone "UK"   Roelie  My Garden Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 12:12 pm EST :    I bought the book too but I think that I will be eighty before I worked it through. We had just yesterday rain but that was more than enough.If it should help I will also promise ro read of the sun shines. Roelie - Overijssel, Zone "Holland"   Kvilledude  Posted on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 02:51 pm EST :    Katie, winter is the time to add lime, especially if you add pelletized lime since it takes most of the winter to break down and get worked into the soil. It might be quicker acting if you use powdered lime but the one time I tried using it, I looked like Frosty the Snowman with lime all over me. Kvilledude   Bengts  Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 02:28 am EST :    Dear Ian I am the first to regret the possibility to get a translation done into proper English. We have been in contact with one of the largest publishers in the world and they did not have the capacity to undertake the task. Further a proper translation would have costed so much that the price of the book in an English edition would have been some three or four times the present price which is still not covering the production cost. The market for a book of this size and condensed content is not so large. So in order to get a publication it was necessary to use my limited English which has been positively polished by Dr. Mary Toomey and Rita Eustace without whom it would have been less readable indeed. Best BengtS Bengts   Scilla  Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 03:09 am EST :    Bengt, So far I've interpreted it just fine, and I bet it is because of my job. I'm only the secretary in a laboratory taking care of scientists from many different countries -- each of them having their own "English" interpretations of what they are trying to get across. I tell my grandchildren I work with 27 doctors, and they are SO impressed. Yet these doctors are not the medical ones, and just yesterday they were telling me we can eat different kinds of sugar. Guys, this is great. Some sugars pass right through your body because they are "left-handed" instead of "right-handed", and your body will only recognize a right-handed molecule. Sweethearts, we HAVE to find a raspberry filled donut with that kind of sugar!! And ice cream . . . They said Splenda is that kind of sugar. Oh, the sky's the limit in science. Scilla - Washington State, Zone "5"   Ingwe4  My Favorite Photo Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 03:17 am EST :    So glad you did like the book Katie! I saw the English edition in England in May this year, and it looked great. It is more of a scientific work than an easily accessible coffee table book, but so much to study and learn from. We have had a change in the weather now here Sweden. Today it's cold but sunny! And I have small buds on some of my clematis too, for instance on Huldine. Ingmarie Sweden Zone 1   Roelie  My Garden Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 10:17 am EST :    Scilla I know about sugars which are taken up direct in the blood like the sugars in some fruit. Do they mean this and like honey . Not refined sugars? Roelie - Overijssel, Zone "Holland"   Kvilledude  Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 02:47 pm EST :    Scilla the left and right handed molecules are mirror images of one another and are stereoisomers or optical isomers of each other. Oh organic chemistry, I remember it well. Could go into greater detail but it would bore most people to sleep. What do you expect of someone who spent 18+ years doing organic chemistry? Kvilledude   Suzymac  My Favorite Photo My Garden Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 04:11 pm EST :    Bengt, I look forward to someday owning 'The Genus Clematis' by Magnus Johnson. I have it on my wish list for next year. Suzy Suzymac - Massachusetts, Zone "6-7"   Scilla  Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 - 06:11 pm EST :    Roelie, I honestly didn't get that deeply into the subject with them as they were just chatting by my desk and I was more interested in "scoo" ing them away so I could work, but I bet Miguel knows. And what you said, Miguel, is what they were talking about. You must have a pretty great brain there, so no wonder you are so good at gardening - knowing the goodies grass clippings add to the soil, too. And also, Miguel, have you tried getting into the "other clematis forum" from work? I'm going to try tomorrow and hope nobody has used the word s_x on that one. Scilla - Washington State, Zone "5"   Spider  Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 08:25 am EST :    Bengt, thank you for the clarification. The ambiguities remain, but they are trivial in comparison with the sheer volume of information which the book presents. English-speakers everywhere cannot but be very grateful to all those involved for allowing us the opportunity to penetrate Dr Johnson's unique contribution to the clematis world which would, otherwise, have remained a mystery. Spider - North Lincolnshire, Zone "UK"   Diveanddig  My Garden Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 05:22 pm EST :    It is not the alkalinity that clematis require since they grow quite well in soils between 6 and 7 pH, slightly acidic to neutral. In soils with a magnesium deficiency, a more alkaline soil will help release the magnesium to the plant. This can effect the leaf color and general plant health. One can also just add epsom salt to the soil to increase magnesium. While we are discussing chemistry, I am glad Priscilla explained what Splenda is. Ah yes, Levo and dextro stereoisomers, remember them well from organic chemistry courses. Bill Bird - Westchester Co., NY - Zone 6   Kvilledude  My Weather Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 02:13 am EST :    Good to see someone else here Bill who remembers their organic stereochemistry-probably one of the hardest things to visualize without stick and ball models. Kvilledude - North Carolina, Zone "7A"

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