Must try it , new to me ! We only have a few Clematis growing over Arches dotted about our garden on the side of the Valley here in Wales, umh I like trying new things in the garden and waiting to see my efforts. Happy Gardening .
I actually do it more than once. All the shoots get pinched back in April, then i'll pinch out half the tips when growth is half way up the wall they are growing on. My aim is to try and have flowers all the way up the wall, rather than just at the top. It works some years better than others.
I have always done this on group 3's, to get two flowering shoots instead of one, then do it again at the next leaf joint and so on, especially when growing on shorter supports. It slows the upward growth and gives more coverage lower down. Not a Chelsea chop, more a gradual process which stops when flower buds form, or when they get beyond reach.
It's the only way I can keep my silver moon in check. About 2m average they said, so I decided to grow it up a 6ft fence; turns out, grows to more like 4 or 5 metres! 🙄 It's also said on some sites to be a group 2, so I've experimented with leaving some old wood this year - they're lyingabout that too!
Thanks both. My daughter has just bought me Tsukiko after I admired my granddaughters and believe it's group 2. My daughter has one also and she cut hers hard back in the spring and there is the usual new growth and perhaps half a dozen flowers. However, my granddaughter did nothing with hers in the spring and it's absolutely covered in flowers, quite stunning. Both were bought last year. I'm thinking now that I should pinch a few tips out to hopefully get a few more flowers in a week or two. What are your thoughts please?
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It's also said on some sites to be a group 2, so I've experimented with leaving some old wood this year - they're lying about that too!
I'm thinking now that I should pinch a few tips out to hopefully get a few more flowers in a week or two. What are your thoughts please?