Knowledgebase
Clematis trimming/pruning #889048
Asked October 30, 2024, 1:39 PM EDT
Kent County Michigan
Expert Response
Hello John-
Your clematis is beautiful!
“The President” clematis are known to quickly grow to 6-10 feet, and they love a trellis. They can be one of the most challenging to prune because they flower on both old and new wood (Group 2). The old wood blooms have the heaviest flush of flowers in the spring, and a lighter flush on new wood in the late summer.
Ideally you want to prune in late winter/early spring, and then again after the first flush of blooms.
The key to pruning Group 2, is to do it lightly.
The only reason to be more aggressive with your pruning is if the plant is straggly or out of control. If you are concerned about the size of the plant, you could leave it alone until late winter/early spring, then cut the last seasons growth to the ground level (you cannot kill a clematis by pruning it). This will produce new shoots from the base. Your plant will be shorter, have a few less flowers that will appear a little later. Then, do not hard prune after this first flush to insure beautiful spring blooms the next year. After adjusting the height of your plant in this manner, you could return to a less aggressive pruning method.
I have attached a few articles that talk about pruning methods for Group 2 clematis. Hope they help.
https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/fact-sheets/clematis/