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 ?

Thanks !

Uncle-C

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.

I have a Clematis Montana which didn't flower last year, and a mystery
jasmine which hasn't flowered either last summer or this winter (or
last winter, in fact)...

It said to prune the clematis after it flowered... so I waited as long
as possible to give it a chance to flower, and pruned both of them. Now
they are both quite, er, short, and I'm wondering if it was in fact a
winter jasmine and I've scuppered its chances of flowering!

What do you think, will either of them flower this summer (the clematis
hadn't been pruned in ages, I suspect, nor had the jasmine), or are
they doomed?

Katie the plantkiller...

wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a Clematis Montana which didn't flower last year, and a mystery
jasmine which hasn't flowered either last summer or this winter (or
last winter, in fact)...

It said to prune the clematis after it flowered... so I waited as long
as possible to give it a chance to flower, and pruned both of them. Now
they are both quite, er, short, and I'm wondering if it was in fact a
winter jasmine and I've scuppered its chances of flowering!

What do you think, will either of them flower this summer (the clematis
hadn't been pruned in ages, I suspect, nor had the jasmine), or are
they doomed?

Katie the plantkiller...

Not enough to go on with the Jasmine, allthough heavy pruning at anytime is
not a good idea flower wise, best to cut the long trailing stems back
leaving a couple of buds at the base of each stem, now that you have its
size reduced it should be easier to cope with.
Clematis montana should be cut back if required in June just after flowering
when you can be very severe, cutting back now is likely to have removed all
this years flowers although you may get a few late summer ones.
All that said it is sometimes better to bite the bullet and get things cut
back to a reasonable size after which they can be controlled at the correct
time.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

Nick Maclaren writes

Summer jasmine can be pruned (or hacked) now, but winter jasmine
should be left to flower (if it does after this frost).

You keep making comments like this! I guess 400ft up in Yorkshire is
warmer than Cambs, but even so, my jasmine has been flowering steadily
on a N wall since early November, frost or no frost. I can't get over
the difficulty you have with yours.

--
Kay

In article ,
K wrote:
Nick Maclaren writes

Summer jasmine can be pruned (or hacked) now, but winter jasmine
should be left to flower (if it does after this frost).

You keep making comments like this! I guess 400ft up in Yorkshire is
warmer than Cambs, but even so, my jasmine has been flowering steadily
on a N wall since early November, frost or no frost. I can't get over
the difficulty you have with yours.

It's not just mine, either!

This is all very odd. Either it is sensitive to a particular type
of frost - and, certainly, the buds are not sensitive until they
start opening - or you have a much hardier strain.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren writes
In article ,
K wrote:
Nick Maclaren writes

Summer jasmine can be pruned (or hacked) now, but winter jasmine
should be left to flower (if it does after this frost).

You keep making comments like this! I guess 400ft up in Yorkshire is
warmer than Cambs, but even so, my jasmine has been flowering steadily
on a N wall since early November, frost or no frost. I can't get over
the difficulty you have with yours.

It's not just mine, either!

This is all very odd. Either it is sensitive to a particular type
of frost - and, certainly, the buds are not sensitive until they
start opening - or you have a much hardier strain.

I think we must just be a lot warmer than you. It's not just mine that
is in flower - they're all over the place. We're more W than you and
higher up - both will have some effect. Do you get very cold nights
followed by warmer days, or is your jasmine in the sun (is it alternate
freezing and thawing that is the problem?), or conversely, do you have
longer cold-all-day periods than us? Nominally, we've been going up to
anything up to 8 deg C in the day time, but the ponds have remained
frozen.

--
Kay

In article ,
K wrote:

I think we must just be a lot warmer than you. It's not just mine that
is in flower - they're all over the place. We're more W than you and
higher up - both will have some effect. Do you get very cold nights
followed by warmer days, or is your jasmine in the sun (is it alternate
freezing and thawing that is the problem?), or conversely, do you have
longer cold-all-day periods than us? Nominally, we've been going up to
anything up to 8 deg C in the day time, but the ponds have remained
frozen.

It was in the sun, yes. I have grubbed it there, and planted some
elsewhere (in a sunless corner), but it will take a year or two to
establish.

Other than that, I think that our temperatures are similar.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

All this pruning was done in late summer last year, and I have left at
least a couple of buds on each stem - but both of them were seriously
taking over, making it difficult to open the gate etc. Both of them had
a year of laissez faire after we moved in, so I could have seen what
they would turn out like.

I am sure the jasmine had no flowers at all the previous year, as I
think I would have noticed when they were, although I'm not sure if the
clematis flowered the first year but not last year - the laissez faire
was mainly due to being busy rather than deliberately not pruning.
There is also a honeysuckle which flowered both years, and I pruned
last year for the same reason - it was threatening to take over the
shed.

I'll have a look at the jasmine and see what the stems are like - good
to know there is a way to tell without the flowers.

Katie