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Plant ID
Lou48
Posts: 2
I have recently moved into a house and there is a clematis growing alongside a Virginia creeper and another plant I am not sure of? I would like try know what the clematis is so that it can be pruned correctly wen the time comes. I would also like to know if I can cut the clematis right back as there are only 3 woody stems coming from the ground which is bare. There are no flowers open on it anymore but they were large blue/purple flowers which have now died but there are lots of new buds waiting to open? Any advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks
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Lou48 Hi. There are so many clematis in shades of blue/purple that it's difficult to say what it is. I'm sure the others on here will attest to that. Did you manage to take any photos of the blooms at all and the whole plant? That would be really helpful to folks on here to try and identify it for you and give advice on which type it is and how and when pruning should take place. I'm sure someone will know it if they could see a photo.
All I can say for definite without a photo Lou is that it will be a group 2 (early, large flowered) as it is having a second flush of flowers. Those are pruned in early spring by starting from the tip and pruning back to the first pair of healthy-looking buds and again after the first flush of flowers. Eventually they can get quite bare at the bottom and can be cut back hard to about a foot high which will encourage new shoots from low down or directly from the roots. It's slightly risky, so if it has become really leggy, only cut back one of those 3 stems each year (again, in early spring.) Here's the RHS pruning advice for group 2:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=346
I'll take on board your comment bob, thanks for mentioning to only but one stem or i would have cut them all .