February and March is the time to prune Clematis. The Sunday Gardener explains how.

Group 1 Clematis montana  

Do not prune

Group 1 Clematis alpina  

Do not prune

Are you putting off pruning Clematis ? then read on........

Late February and March is the right time to prune Clematis, except for any early flowering Clematis. The rule is if it flowers before June, don't prune. The first images are of Clematis montana and C. alpina which are the early flowering type of Clematis (called Group 1) and it is most important not to prune these. If you think about it, if a plant is to produce flowers in April and May cutting it back in March is going to remove all the buds.

The Clematis which are pruned now are those which flower later so they have time to put on growth and make buds.

This is the time to prune Clematis in Groups 2 & 3. The next two images are of Clematis Crystal fountain Group 2 and Clematis tangutica 'Bill MacKenzie' Group 3. These are Clematis which flower from midsummer onwards, group 2 in June onwards, Group 3 late summer around Late August and September.

There is help on the website about how to prune Clematis and how to work out which type of Clematis you have https://www.sundaygardener.co.uk/how-to-grow-clematis.html and videos at The SundayGardener YouTube where there is a Clematis playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist…

It can be disconcerting when pruning Clematis to see the new shoots, and then cut them off in the spring prune. The last image shows a Clematis with many shoots, and those above the pruning line will be sacrificed. Not to worry as this is normal when pruning Groups 2 & 3 Clematis.

How many are removed depends on whether the Clematis is a Group 3 (hard prune,) or Group 2 (lighter prune).

How many are removed depends on whether the Clematis is a