Clematis: Ramona, my 1st clematis, contradictory pruning info, help?, 0 by EllaTiarella

EllaTiarella wrote:
I bought Ramona 6/11/08.

The tag said: In late Feb or March, cut back to 2 strong sets of buds on each stem close to ground level.

The employee said: not necessary to cut it back; leaving the old dead growth just makes its climbing easier.

The internet said: Group 2 for pruning, i.e. in early spring you should cut back the vines 6 or 8 inches to the nearest pair of strong leaf axil buds.

The internet also said: Pruning can be Group 2 or Group 3, although a hard prune (Group 3) will result in a loss of early flowers. Group 2 pruning instructions: Prune lightly above the new leaf buds in early spring, and remove any dead or weak stems. Early flowers appear on old wood while late summer flowers appear on new growth.

I did read somewhere that there can be a problem with no flowering at the bottom, and my trellis is only 5 feet tall, which leads me to think a hard pruning might help keep it flowering over all of this little trellis. But a daylilly is in front of it, so I don't need the Ramona to flower on the lower 12-15 inches.

But all in all I am very confused. It just started to leaf out this week. What on earth should I do?