Kay Easton wrote in
:

In article . 12,
Victoria Clare writes
A large flowering, late clematis - sorry forget the variety - didn't
get pruned in the autumn (I forgot). I've just noticed it's now
producing new shoots all over.

Would it be better to let it get on with it, or prune it now, a bit
late?

I thought the theory was early flowering clematis - prune after
flowering, late ones, prune in the spring?

?? Oh, perhaps it is.
I never bother pruning the earlyflowering ones either - I thought that
was Doing it Right. Seems to work anyway.


But I find that my early
the late flowering
ones have all their new shoots nibbled by slugs and just disappear.
Since I'm not into killing slugs, I shall content myself with early
flowering clematis and late flowering honeysuckles.


I've had the same problem, but find that if you don't prune the clematis
right down but leave a bit of a 'leg' - say a foot or so - that helps.

This one is also in a pot*, which for some mysterious reason puts the
slugs off. I don't know why this should be when they will cheerfully
climb 6 feet up my runner beans of an evening to eat the young shoots!

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I'll prune it back this weekend.

Victoria

* yes I know clematis isn't supposed to do well in a pot. This is a
fairly small variety though, and it seems to love it - been in there 3
years and absolutely covered in flowers - more every year. (The pot is
in shade, I'm fairly careful about watering it, and because it's right
under my eye by the back door, it gets fed pretty regularly too.)