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in the garden
Clematis Pruning Made Easy
An outline of the main pruning requirements of Clematis from Cathie’s
Gardening School, Secretts Garden Centre, Milford.
ONE THING THAT causes more problems than anything
else in gardening is the art of pruning, particularly
Clematis pruning.
Would it surprise you to know that there is a Clematis
in flower every single month of the year? I am not
going to bombard you with names at this stage but it’s
an idea for a future article!
When does your Clematis flower?
I am not going to confuse you with ‘groups’ and flower
sizes as the most important thing to know is when your
Clematis flowers. There is a way of learning what to do
related to when it flowers.
If it flowers before June don’t prune
There are some of the most beautiful Clematis
flowering at the moment including Clematis cirrhosa
and Clematis napaulensis; both flower profusely
throughout late Autumn to early Spring and in fact I
don’t think mine ever stopped. Once these have
finished then the Clematis montana and the evergreen
Clematis armandii flower profusely in the Spring.
Whilst none of these need pruning you may find they
need a little tidying, and the best time to do this is
immediately after flowering so they have a whole year
to re-grow and develop new buds.
If it flowers half way through the year?
This is easy too, cut it down by half in the Spring
(Feb/Mar). Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’ flowers in June and
because it only has half the year to recover after
pruning cut it back by a third to a half. If it’s 6ft high
then reduce it to 3-4ft. You will see new buds shooting
so make a clean cut above these.
Late flowering Clematis
These are the Clematis texensis, Clematis viticella and
many others that flower late Summer and into Autumn
before the first frosts. Because they flower so late you
can cut them hard back, almost to ground level in the
Spring (Feb/Mar) as they have a whole season to
recover, re-grow and flourish.
Herbaceous Clematis
Clematis integrifolia and others that have a long
flowering season die down to the ground each year
anyway so as soon as you see new growth trim off all
the dead shoots and leave the new ones to thrive.
Clematis Wilt
Clematis do tend to suffer from a fungal disease which
causes a dramatic wilting and sudden death. To avoid
this plant your Clematis a little deeper or mound up
around the base. There are many varieties that are
resistant to this disease and I will not buy them unless
they are. If the worst happens prune it right down to
ground level so the deeper buds can re-grow.
Practical Pruning Workshop
I have made it sound very simple but the best way to
learn is to do it. Pruning requires a little knowledge and
lots of practice.
If you would like to join a group at Secretts there are a
few places left on 21st February so why not come
along and have a go?
Any of these workshops can be purchased for yourself
or as a gift and are £60 each including refreshments.
Please ask for a booking form and book early.
If you want to learn more about gardening there are
regular courses, workshops and taster sessions as well
as voluntary opportunities at the Gardening School
available for everyone.
If you want to learn more about gardening there
are regular courses, workshops and taster
sessions as well as voluntary opportunities at the
Gardening School available for everyone.
For further details, call 07931 925382, email
cgs@cathiebrooks.co.uk or visit the website at
www.cathiesgardeningschool.co.uk.
36 x R&A HASLEMERE & VILLAGES February 2013