clematis Climbing Clematis

Clematis

Common wisdom is that clematis likes ‘its head in the sun and feet in the shade’ in reality, companion plants will generally provide as much shade as is needed, and many varieties will grow and flower quite well with not very much sun.

Clematis are typically divided into three groups based on bloom time, and consequentially, how they should be pruned to avoid cutting of the flowers:

• Group 1 – blooms early in the season on the previous year’s growth. Prune immediately after flowering to keep from cutting off next year’s buds.
• Group 2 – bloom once in spring, then again in fall, or intermittently through the summer on old growth. Try to avoid pruning except for removing dead wood.
• Group 3 – bloom in the summer or autumn on new wood. Prune while dormant in the fall or winter. These can be cut to the ground in the winter if they are looking scraggly, and it will not affect the next season’s bloom.

clematis belongs to the Clematis genus.