Clematis is quickly becoming one of the most popular vines in the garden and with good reason.. They can easily be added into any garden theme, giving color, height and grace to any area in your garden. The vines can be grown over arbors, lattices, or even worked through other perennials.
Growing clematis is fairly easy but pruning them seems to be the most challenging for most gardeners but in reality, the answer simply lies in when your clematis blooms.
The three groups of clematis are:
1. Spring Bloomer
2. Summer or Fall Bloomers
3. Repeat Bloomers
In this post, we will discuss Group 2 which are the large flowering hybrids that bloom in Summer. While group 2 is further broken down into two sub categories, being (A) those that bloom in the spring and possibly again in the fall and (B) those that bloom in the spring then occasionally through the summer.
All of the clematis in this group start blooming on 'old wood' and should not be given a heavy pruning during its growing season, however, late season flowers can be promoted by pruning the seed heads off right after the first flowering and the blooms drop from their heads or tepals. While the flowers may be smaller and differently colored as well, when it pushes a new flower, a light pruning of seed heads will promote new growth on the vine as well.
Let's take a look at this Group 2 Clematis that was originally pruned back on its old wood in early April. Within weeks of its originally pruning it immediately generated new growth and healthy flowers.
After the flowers faded and the petals fell off, a light pruning was done in between a set of leaves being careful not to cut the main vine.
Then, within two weeks, notice the new growth in preparation of setting new flowers and further strengthening the vine itself.
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