Hi Turnipfarmer - You can grow them on house walls no problem. The reason I said they were suited to covering sheds or garages etc is that they are more sprawling and much bigger than the clematis we normally think of. When they're on house walls it's just harder to keep them looking tidy as they want to grow everywhere! You need a big ladder
You can prune them to a particular height on a house wall of course, but they'll want to keep going up so bear that in mind. You'd probably have to cut the top back a couple of times a year.
It depends what you have surrounding it too. I had a fence next to mine so although it grew up over the back door, ( I tied it in and pruned any excess off throughout the year) I was also able to train it all along the fence. It was a bit of a faff initially, but looked tremendous when it flowered.
Sorry Tfarmer - I went out to get on since it was dry!
You can pretty much take off as much as you want with a mature montana. I used to prune quite often at this time of year - mainly just for keeping it where I wanted it. The more you take off now, the fewer flowers you'll get next spring as they flower on the mature growth that's already there. It won't do any harm
If you feel it's unsuitable for the position it's in, you can hack it back next year and move it, or train it in another direction.
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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thank you for the reply. Am I pretty safe at this time if year to prune and tidy?
There is a lot of brown and dead woody parts on it.
Sorry Tfarmer - I went out to get on since it was dry!
You can pretty much take off as much as you want with a mature montana. I used to prune quite often at this time of year - mainly just for keeping it where I wanted it. The more you take off now, the fewer flowers you'll get next spring as they flower on the mature growth that's already there. It won't do any harm
If you feel it's unsuitable for the position it's in, you can hack it back next year and move it, or train it in another direction.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...