I've just moved to my new Ohio home (from Louisiana) and have a clematis growing beside the side door. The trellis it's on is falling apart - beyond repair - and the vine scraggly looking. Can I cut the plant back radically, put in a new trellis and have it come back? Or should I try to untangle the current vines and place them on a new support?
Can I cut my clematis to the ground
Wait until late fall, early winter and prune it down to about 18 inches (or lower if there are nodes). If you must cut it back to the ground, wait still as pruning of any sort at this time will only encourage new growth that will be burned back by the winter cold.
Chances are, if you pruned it back now, it would be fine in the long run, but why risk damaging a plant as you don't even likely know the variety at this point.
~Chills