Getting Down to Pruning That Type 3 Clematis
Alright, so that big clematis vine, the one that flowers later in the summer, was looking like a real mess. Just a tangle of dead-looking stems from last year. You know the type, the group 3 ones. They flower on the new growth they make each spring, so you gotta chop ’em back hard or you end up with flowers way up high and bare stems down low. Not a good look.
So, I grabbed my trusty pruners. Gave them a quick sharpen and clean, always helps make cleaner cuts. Didn’t want to be fighting with dull blades.
Went out there, looked at the base of the plant. You can usually see some little buds or nubs low down on the old stems, maybe a foot or so off the ground, sometimes even lower. That’s basically your target.
Here’s what I did, step-by-step:
- First, I just started untangling some of the worst bits, pulling the dead stems away from the fence it grows on. Makes it easier to see what you’re doing.
- Then, I took my pruners and started cutting. Stem by stem.
- Didn’t mess around much. Just followed each main stem down towards the ground.
- I cut each one back hard, leaving maybe two sets of those little buds on each stem. That’s usually only about, say, 12 inches or so from the soil. Some people go even lower, practically to the ground, and that works fine too.
- Yeah, it looks brutal. You go from this massive vine to just a few little stubs sticking out of the ground. Feels wrong the first time you do it.
Cleaning up is key.
Once all the main stems were cut down, there was a big pile of old vine. I gathered all that dead stuff up. Took it straight to the compost heap. Don’t want to leave it lying around, looks messy and can sometimes harbor pests or diseases, I guess.
After cutting and cleaning, the area around the base looked pretty bare. I sometimes scratch in a little bit of compost or general fertilizer around the base, just to give it a good start for all the growing it needs to do. Then maybe a bit of mulch.
And that’s basically it. Done. Now just gotta wait. In a few weeks, you’ll see new shoots popping up like crazy from those little stubs and from the ground. It always comes back, strong and ready to flower again later in the season. Simple job, really, just gotta be bold enough to cut it back hard.
