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Too late to prune clematis?

PurplePoppyPurplePoppy Posts: 48
in Problem solving
I realise that I have a couple of group 3 clematis plants and I should have pruned them hard at the end of Feb / beginning of March. Is it too late to prune now or is it possible to still do so? Has anyone pruned group 3 clematis this late and what was the outcome?

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited May 2021
    In their early years I don't prune group 3s hard.  I wait for the worst frosts to be past and then cut out any dead stems, going back to just above a healthy pair of leaves on each stem.   I've lots clems by being too enthusiastic with the pruning early on.

    If yours is young I'd just tidy it up, feed it and let it grow.  If it's older and well established and has lots of stems then yes, you can prune it back but I still wouldn't go in hard this late.  Just tidy it up, shorten some stems back to just above the lowest buds but leave others and feed it.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • PurplePoppyPurplePoppy Posts: 48
    Thanks very much for the advice Obelixx. I'll follow your advice. They are mature and I think I've just never bothered to prune for a few years, never remembering which group they were in. But now they have developed an empty woody stem with the flowers at the top. Is it possible to do a restructure of the plant come Feb/March next year, or is there a risk I'd kill the plant in doing so?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - you can rejuvenate almost any clematis by cutting back hard. It just means you'll miss some flowers at the usual time, or you'll get a smaller display until the plant gets going again  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If you know they are group 3s and mature then yes, you can cut them back hard newt Feb/March depending on the weather, then give them a really good feed and a mulch.  Watch for new growth and train the stems as they appear and before they get into a huge tangle.

    Don't forget to feed them this year too.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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