And to you, enjoy the lamb
Ian
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Those Clematis look very good. I’m not very good with Clematis can never work out when to prune them. 
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There are three different groups of clematis:
Group 1 flower in the spring on last year’s shoots such as the ever popular C. montana. These are usually lightly pruned just after flowering.
Group 2 flower in late spring/early summer and form on new shoots from old wood. They are pruned in early spring just as the buds develop. A second pruning is done after flowering. Clematis ‘The President’ is within this group.
Group 3 flower in late summer through to autumn, such as Clematis ‘Ernest Markham’ (shown below), with shoots and new wood formed on the current season’s growth. These are pruned in early spring, before new growth commences.
Wishing you a lovely weekend
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Thank you for that. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a clematis, on the label it says prune in June.
Now, it’s growing up the pergola, at a phenomenal rate, there’s no sign of flower buds.
So in June do I prune it, if so what to?
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Does the label specify the name?
You have a group 1, but don’t prune it yet. Let it grow for a few years (as pruning is generally used to keep the plant from growing too big). Ideally, you should erect a trellis (or insert a row of bamboo canes) to allow it to spread out
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It’s got a pergola to grow up.
Thank you for identifying it as a group 1.
I’ll leave it alone for this year then.
Regards
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That clematis will shoot up the pergola by many feet if left unchecked. If you leave it, it will have just a few very long stems that will be longer than the frame and not many nodes to flower on. You need to keep it in check.
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Thank you, aye, it does grow. About 60 cm in the past fortnight.
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If you want more stems than you now have, to give plenty of thick growth low on the plant, you can cut a young plant back to nodes maybe 30 to 50cm above the ground. This helps to avoid thin spindly growth low down with flowers only on the higher stems, bearing in mind that they flower on the previous season’s growth.
It looks like you have at least three healthy stems, which may be enough but I guess there would be no harm in cutting at least one of them back to thicken it up a bit more. It may depend on the size and shape if the support you want it to cover.
The most important thing I find is to give them plenty of thick organic mulch. The stems love sun, but the roots hate to be hot or dry.
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Actually there’s only two stems. Since planting it, one stem has done a run up the pergola but the second appears to be holding back. You are right though, I don’t want flowers all at the top.
Regards
In that case I would be tempted to cut it back now so that you double the number of stems. It will soon recover as long as the slugs don’t eat all the new growth.
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Okay, will do.
The garden has seemed a bit slow this year, the trees bloomed early, then other flowers in a a rush in the last week.
Quite often we will buy plants in the hospital corner of a garden centre so naming is limited.
Rose Arthur Bell
Salvia Hot Lips
Clematis Rebecca
Pyracantha Alexander
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Roses emerging along a narrow border in front of my house. Not the sunniest spot but once they get going they thrive. Blooming at the moment are Desdemona, Darcey Bussell, Eustacia Vye and Roald Dahl.
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‘Scepter’d Isle’ rose in pot - wonderful smell of myrrh on a warm but overcast evening in my backyard
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