Clematis: Help! It's too soon for buds!, 1 by ClematisGuru

ClematisGuru wrote:
between the early buds and the frost damage you mentioned i would prune it back now before the buds get any bigger.
esp with that cultivar, no harm from delaying blooming. i am going to delay some of my blooming this year to try and get my biggest show going a couple of weeks later than normal. this means in late april and early may, before buds form i will be lightly pruning and pinching back (on clems who bloom on new growth) more than i normally do throughout the spring. clems that bloom on old wood such as the duchess of e, or my favorite john warren, or proteus i rarely touch except to remove damaged vines at any time needed.
here is john warren. which i think looks like a brooks brother pin stripe shirt.