In article .com,
Uncle-C wrote:
Hi ! The sun has been out in South Bucks now for a couple of days and
even though it is quite nippy the anticipation of Spring is in the air
! The Clematis and Jasmin look as if they need a good "short back and
sides" and I was wondering when would be the best time of year to give
them a good pruning ? I'm not too concerned about the Jasmin as there
is little or no dead growth but what about pruning the Clematis, now in
Feb. ? Or should I not cut until the begining of March (which I think
may be a bit late) ? I would like longer flowering as well, may be into
June so does the time and extent of pruning effect this ?

In both cases, the answer is "which ones?"

Summer jasmine can be pruned (or hacked) now, but winter jasmine
should be left to flower (if it does after this frost). Similarly,
summer-flowering clematis can be hacked back hard, but don't do
that to the spring-flowering ones.

I sheared my Clematis tangutica close to the ground last weekend,
but propose to do nothing to my C. armandii tangle until after it
has flowered. Or my C. alpina.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.