How to prune clematis

Pruning time

The best time for pruning is generally in late winter or early spring. After entering winter, most of the branches of the small iron tree are dry, and the severe cold will freeze some of the branches to death. This is normal for large-flowered clematis and late-flowering clematis to bloom on new branches. If the winter winds are strong, you can fix the dead branches on the support and wait for pruning in early spring.

Pruning methods

1. First type of pruning

As for the pruning method, the age of the seedlings and the type of pruning should be taken into consideration. For one-year seedlings, no matter what variety, they can be heavily pruned - leave 1-2 nodes above the soil surface and snap them off; you can even cut all the branches close to the ground to promote more new branches. For example, home potted plants can be properly pruned to ensure a compact plant shape.

2. Second type of pruning

Starting from the second year, pruning is required according to the pruning type. For example, long-petal clematis and Montana clematis basically do not need pruning. Just prune lightly after flowering as needed if you need to control the plant shape. Another type of plant that needs light pruning is to leave a height of 1-1.5 meters for pruning. For those that grow too fast and need heavy pruning, only 2-3 pairs of buds need to be left, which is a length of 30-50 cm for pruning.

3. The third type of pruning

(According to observation and research by flower lovers, varieties that require three types of pruning can sometimes be pruned in two groups, that is, leaving them to 1-1.5 meters, which will result in more flowers.) When pruning, the cut should be chosen about 1 cm above a pair of strong buds.