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Pruning Group 3 and Group 2 Clematis where the first buds are pretty high up
Pink678
Posts: 498
I have a Sally Evipo077 Group 3 clematis, and I am a bit unsure about the best time to prune it. Too early and the frosts might get it, but too late and I have to cut off so many buds and greenery.
This year I am wondering whether now might be a good time. I'm in zone 11 where the last frost is given as Apr. 21 - Apr. 30, but I think that would be too late to prune it.
I think I am supposed to cut above a green bud, but I also heard that I should cut it at 30cm from the ground.
This is where the first buds are on the stems, measured as straight vertical height (the length of the stem is a bit longer as it bends):
115cm
75cm
85cm
This year I am wondering whether now might be a good time. I'm in zone 11 where the last frost is given as Apr. 21 - Apr. 30, but I think that would be too late to prune it.
I think I am supposed to cut above a green bud, but I also heard that I should cut it at 30cm from the ground.
This is where the first buds are on the stems, measured as straight vertical height (the length of the stem is a bit longer as it bends):
115cm
75cm
85cm
65cm
This is the first green bud shown in the picture, which is rather small and not as big or leafy as the ones further up.
Should I prune it now, and how far up should I cut?
I also have a group 2 Clematis (maybe Ruby Glow) that did not produce many flowers at all last year. I think I am supposed to prune this one at the same time as group 3, so I would do that one too. This one has 2 stems, with the first bud at 75cm (vertical height) on one stem, and the other stem has no buds at all.
Thank you very much.
0
Posts
Prune the group 3 one now. I've already done mine. They are pretty hardy so frost shouldn't be a problem. I cut mine down to about a foot tall, which means cutting off the higher buds. This will encourage them to make new growth lower down. If you don't it could get leggy at the bottom and all the growth will be at the top and it won't want to make new shoots from the ground.
I rarely prune any Group 3s before April, although the slugs do a fair bit of pruning when any new growth appears. I cut back to around a foot or two, depending on where they're growing. Some are growing through other planting/shrubs, so can be left low down once mature, with only the higher growth cut back. The lower sections are often hidden by the shrub. Everything is later here into growth anyway than the south. I sometimes prune them back about a third in later autumn, especially any which are more rampant.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Group 2s flower in May/June on old stems so you just need to feed it as above and then cut back any dead stems above the top buds. Once they've flowered you can dead head and remove any wayward stems then feed as above and they'll produce a second flush in late summer.
If a group 2 gets unruly as it matures you can also treat it as a group 3 and prune it hard in spring to renew it but yours isn't at that stage yet.