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PRUNING

When you purchase a new clematis it can be pruned to approximately 12" during the first February or March after planting. This encourages a strong and bushy plant. Plants that are already multi-stemmed can be left, especially if they are the early flowering type, or evergreens.

GROUP ONE - NO PRUNING

These clematis flower on the previous seasons growth, and they all flower early in the season. No pruning is actually required for these plants but they can be tidied immediately after flowering. If you prune at any other time your clematis is unlikely to flower until the following flowering season. Group One clematis include alpinas, macropetalas, montanas, cirrhosas and evergreens.

GROUP TWO - LIGHT PRUNE

This group consists of all the early large-flowered hybrids, including double and semi-double varieties. Their main flowering period is May to June, and after this time you can prune your clematis back by about a third to a half of the plant, or enough to keep the plant looking neat and tidy. Start to feed the plant with a high potash fertilizer and this will encourage new growth and more flowers in the autumn. In February/March you can tidy by cutting out dead or weak stems.

GROUP THREE - HARD PRUNE

These include viticellas, herbaceous and large late-flowering hybrids which produce flowers on the current season's growth. They can be pruned back to a pair of strong leaf buds in February/March which will normally be approximately 12" to 18" from the ground. Failure to prune these Group Three clematis may result in the plant becoming bare of leaves and flowers at the base.