despite new shoots higher up the plant, there's no sign so far of any new shoots in the first 30cm "cut back all the old stems to the lowest pair of healthy buds 15-30cm (6in-1ft) above soil level".
The growth higher up is inhibiting the growth lower down.
A good practice is to cut back in late autumn to about 1m. This will stop wind-rock, and make the low buds shoot. Not too late to do this now and do a final pruning in March. If you look hard there will be tiny buds at each leaf axil, these will start to grow into "healthy buds" once you have removed competition.
Hoizontal training should achieve the same objective.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Good old Mr. Lloyd suggested planting 2 of a Clematis together. One is then pruned back to 20 cms and the other left to grow. That way you get a tall clematis with flowers from bast to top, according to him. Never tried it myself though.
Like the OP I have a new C. 'Forever Friends' (aka 'Zofori') planted last Spring. It has developed nicely and flowered accordingly all summer. I've just had a look and taken a pic. As you can see it has started new growth in quite a few places, the most advanced (too advanced?) shoots happening towards the top of the plant. The little label yellows show the distances (in centimetres) of the new shoots from ground level.
I expect the general consensus is to prune now and remove anything something like above 50cm?
By the way, this site says "C. ‘Zofofri’ FOREVER FRIENDS is generally described as a late large-flowering clematis in the Jackmanii Group in pruning Group 3. If left unpruned the plant should flower in June and if pruned early in the year, with other Group 3 clematis, then the flowers will be later from July till September."
I just watched a Monty Don video where he advised pruning to where you'd like flowers to begin. So in a bed or border, maybe about 2 feet, but if it's growing in a more open area lower to the ground.
I'll give Etoile Violette a prune to about 30cm - I've just seen some new shoots there - and see how it goes. With Forever Friends I will prune to just above the lowest buds, which are probably more like 50cm up from the ground.
I have 4 clematis growing up a 120cm wire mesh fence along one edge of our veg plot. They are all group 3s and all get trained as horizontally and/or diagonally as I can and they all flower well. They will be pruned back to about 30cms high and given a good dollop of feed and garden compost just as soon as this current spate of frosty nights is over.
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)."
I tried this and the plant layered itself beautifully all along the wall under the mulch but I still pruned it hard down to the first plump buds in the spring.
@BlueBirder- I think @Palustris meant two plants next to, or near, each other, not in the same hole. It's not too difficult to see which plant is which, as long as there's not too much other stuff around the base of the plants themselves. I do something slightly similar with E. Violette, because it grows up, through, and next to, an alpina, although they're in separate beds. I leave some of the shoots at the back to grow up and through the alpina, and along the top of the fence, and the stems appearing at the front get pruned harder and trained through the lower planting beside it.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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A good practice is to cut back in late autumn to about 1m. This will stop wind-rock, and make the low buds shoot. Not too late to do this now and do a final pruning in March. If you look hard there will be tiny buds at each leaf axil, these will start to grow into "healthy buds" once you have removed competition.
Hoizontal training should achieve the same objective.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I just watched a Monty Don video where he advised pruning to where you'd like flowers to begin. So in a bed or border, maybe about 2 feet, but if it's growing in a more open area lower to the ground.
I'll give Etoile Violette a prune to about 30cm - I've just seen some new shoots there - and see how it goes. With Forever Friends I will prune to just above the lowest buds, which are probably more like 50cm up from the ground.
If two clematis were planted together, I think I'd find it hard to only prune one - the stems would be hard to tell apart, no?
It's not too difficult to see which plant is which, as long as there's not too much other stuff around the base of the plants themselves.
I do something slightly similar with E. Violette, because it grows up, through, and next to, an alpina, although they're in separate beds. I leave some of the shoots at the back to grow up and through the alpina, and along the top of the fence, and the stems appearing at the front get pruned harder and trained through the lower planting beside it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...