In article ,
says...
Brian Robertson wrote:
Just moved into a new house and there is a small - big enough to sit out
with a plastic garden table and chairs - balcony outside our bedroom.
The sides of the balcony are covered by a Clematis which is growing from
ground level and has a trunk as thick as a small tree. It had overflowed
onto the balcony and had actually covered a small conifer growing there
to the extent that we only noticed it's tip poking out from the Clematis
several days after we had moved in!

I have liberated the conifer to the patio and cut the Clematis back from
where it was overflowing onto the balcony - including where it seemed to
be growing behind the gutter and into the roof - it is still 95% as it
was. I would like to seriously prune it back, but how brutal can I be
without killing it and when? The house is rented and the landlord might
object if we start killing his plants off.

Brian and Sue.

PS It seems to be just coming to the end of its flowering.

Brian and Sue.

Sounds like a montana type, now is a good time to prune them and
generally you will do no harm if you stick to a pair of secateurs,
anything they will go through is fair game, it will look a terrible mess
for a while but will quickly regrow and by doing it now you should also
get some flower next year.
It is not generally a good idea to cut into the older thick wood as it
does not always regrow (although often it will)
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea