"Valkyrie" wrote in message
news:1066799549.975536@yasure...

Can I prune this back now? It's so dark now that we are into the winter
cloudy weather I'd really like as much light as possible coming into my
living room and this thing has blocked most of the daylight. Like I'm
peaking out from inside a cave. I've read either to prune it after it sets
seed heads or to wait till March or April. It blooms on new wood so if I
hacked it down to 2-3 feet now would it be OK?

Puget Sound region, Western Washington
Val

Val, because ou winters are usually so mild, you do run the risk of it
putting out new growth if you prune now. How vulnerable that would be to
what winter weather we do have and if there would be any serious damage, I
can't say for sure. I have had to prune back clematis at this time of year
and all have survived without harm and none were as robust as a SAC, but
they were all planted in the ground, which is a factor as well. I'd say go
for it.

pam - gardengal