Howdy all

We have a very large old (20 years?) clematis right next to the corner
of our house. It grows across the upper half of the house frontage. The
trunk is now quite thick.

Concerned about the overall size of the plant, during the winter I
determined to take the whole lot down, and replace it. However I wimped
out after I'd got halfway - couldn't bear the thought of doing away with
it completely.

If I keep cutting the upper half of the plant down annually, so that it
doesn't grow overall in size, is it reasonable to think that the root
system will also be kept in check?

Cheers
John