Hi,

Can someone advise how I can tell the difference between Russian Vine and Clematis in winter?

Yes, I know, that sounds like a made-up pub quiz question! So let me explain:
- I’m a novice gardener. Having retired, I now have the time and desire to sort out my neglected garden.
- I have a fence that’s covered to the point of groaning under the weight of climbers. I need to seriously thin it out.
- One of the climbers is a mature clematis. Every May/June the fence is covered in beautiful pink blooms. I want to keep the clematis.
- One of the climbers is a Russian Vine. I’d like to chop it down, but the two are entwined.
- If I knew how to identify it, I’d cut the Russian vine off at the base.
- When they’re in leaf, I can’t see a thing (in terms of stems and branches). So I thought I’d wait until now, when I can see what’s what.

The problem is, without leaves and flowers, I’m not sure how to tell apart the stem of the clematis and the Russian vine. As far as I can tell, the stems of one plant appear to be darker brown than the other. But that’s as far as I get!

Any help would be much appreciated.