Marianne's Response

lindadike’s Question

Good Morning Marianne,
We have a huge evergreen clematis that is is full bloom and smells wonderful but we feel it’s getting out of control. You had told me sometime back that we should prune it right after it blooms. It’s growing over a wooden arbor and we were wondering if we dare cut about 2/3’s of it off. There is a lot of dead leaves that are stuck up under the arbor and we would like it looking cleaner and our plan it to monitor it more closely and not let it get out of hand in the future.

Posted by lindadike on April 17, 2013

Marianne's Response

Yes - get snippy with it right after the flowers fade. You can even cut this clematis back to within three feet from the ground and it will come roaring back with new growth. Don't ever prune the clematis armandi (the evergreen clematis that flowers in the spring) during the late fall. An autumn pruning could kill this fragrant bloomer. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti