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Can I prune my Clematis Group 3 now - have left it late

Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
in Problem solving
I am a novice gardener, very new to all this.

I have a Clematis Group 3, it's Clematis Sally Evipo077.

I read last year that I should prune it to about 30cm above ground, in early spring.

I was waiting until after the frosts but didn't check the plant, and I now see it has a whole lot of green new growth.

Can I/should I prune it to 30cm now, cutting off all that new growth? Or it is better to leave it now, and wait until next spring to prune it earlier in Feb/March?

Thanks for your help.




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Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    edited April 2021
    The breeder of this clematis Raymond Evison recommends cutting down to 15cm in late winter/early spring.
    If it was mine I would cut it but not as low, looking for the lowest growing point and cut there.
    Flowering might be delayed a bit.
    Then give it a feed of either clematis or rose fertilizer, a good water and a mulch of bagged manure or whatever you can get, keeping it away from the stems.
    You can chop them down by half to 2/3rds in autumn just to make them look tidier then do a proper prune in spring.
    https://www.raymondevisonclematis.com/products/sally
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    It doesn't apply to your situation, but you don't need to prune a group 3. For many years i left a Bill McKenzie to romp up a tree and it was a great sight in flower.
    Sunny Dundee
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thank you K67 that is very helpful.
    I just went out and measured where the new leaves are. There is just a little bit of growth on one stem at 40cm (you can just about see in the photo on the right hand side), but no other growth at all on any other stems until I get to around 90cm high where there is quite a lot. (Some of the other green in the photo is from very long delicate stems that have grown so much they have doubled up and are hanging down.)
    I'm wondering should I prune to the height of 40cm just above that one leaf, or go up to the 90cm point?
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thanks Balgay.Hill I didn't know that. Very new to all this!
    I wonder why it wouldn't apply to my sitatuation. Possibly I could consider leaving the Clematis this year for a messy show. It has quite a few of the stems hanging/growing downwards.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    edited April 2021
    Hèdge your bets! Cut them both at their growing point. Those that aren't growing cut to 30cm but sometimes not every stem will regrow. 
    Then you can carefully tie in the new growth although whenever I do that I always managed to break some off no matter how careful i am. If you can,  train them to grow round the obelisk rather than straight up.
    I wonder If the warm weather we had in March has started them off early, it seems yours is a strong grower.

  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thanks K67. OK, so am I understanding right - I should follow each stem up from the bottom, and then cut each one just above the first leaf I find? And if a stem had no growth at all, then cut to 30cm?
    Yes, it seemed like one moment it was a dead mess, the next moment it was covered in green.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    That sounds about right.  By summer it should look great.
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    I meant your support isn't really big enough. My Bill McKenzie was probably 30-40 foot high. :smiley:
    Sunny Dundee
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thanks, this advice is so helpful. I'm wanting to do my best with this plant, but couldn't find anything online about this.
    The feed, should I do that right away after the pruning, and just the once?
    And the manure/compost, do I put it in a ring around the Clematis to avoid touching the stems, or do I also cover the inside part too (how much distance around the stems needs to be clear of mulch)?
    How thick should the mulch be?
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    I see Balgay.Hill, thank you! :D
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