Question about pruning Jackmanii now

I'm in zone 5b or 6a, this year it's 6a. All my gardening is in containers, but I grow a variety of perennials, including four clematises. I've had my jackmanii for several years, but in the fall and winter of 2005 it dried out pretty well because I was sick and couldn't tend to my plants. Many died. But I pruned the jackmanii the next February to about 8-10". It did passably well in 2006. So in February last year I pruned down to 8-10" once again. This year I didn't prune at all. Do you think it's okay to prune now? I've got quite a few buds on different stems, some about ready to leaf out. My question is should I prune it now?

Here's what it looked like last year.

Yes..go ahead and hard prune your "Jackmanii" since it's a pruning group 3....we all get lax sometimes and they start leafing out like yours...just cut above a leafing bud axil...I usually prune mine just above the 3rd leaf axil from the soil...Jeanne

Two of our Jackmani get cut down to the lowest buds. This is the one at the compost bins, last year, and shows how rampant it gets with all the compost juice at the root zone.

I'm encouraged. I'm going to go out today and do the appropriate pruning. Thanks everybody for all your help!

Judith

Pirl, that thing is HUGE!

By the end of summer it covers the three compost bins and has to be at least 15' long. It had been on a 9'9" copper trellis that DH made but the top broke off in a wind storm.

Pirl..what a MAGNIFICENT Specimen of "Jackmanii" how old is he?

About ten years old. It's my best grower and all because of the endless compost.

Beautiful Pirl!

Thanks, Doss.

Just goes to show why I keep telling people to have patience when growing clematis..They only get more beautiful with age!!..Jeanne

Here's the pruning job on my jackmanii. Hope it helps the vine look like Pirl's!

Further up (I can't get far enough away to get a good pic of the whole thing that will show the details).

Give it a good drink of Epsom Salts - 1 Tablespoon to a gallon of warm water. Then fill the pot to the brim with the best compost you can find. Good luck.

I just ordered some Vermont Compost for containers which should help. But epsom salts pH is too high for our climate. Somebody on DG sent me a fertilizer sample last year that I've been dying to use. I think I'll use it for my clematises and annuals this year. Maybe even the perennials.

Thanks for all the good advice. I've got a model to reach for now, Pirl!

I live in Charlotte, NC and am afraid that I've messed up with my clematis. First of all, I've lost my tags so I'm not sure which plant is which. I know that they should be pruned at differrent times, but dont even know which is which. Some names which sound familiar are Ramona, Jackmanii and Ville de Lyons. Two of them already have buds; should I assume that these are spring bloomers? Will they rebloom? Last year was a bad year in NC (drought and incredibly hot), so I sort of let my poor garden go to pot. I don't even remember which bloomed when. One of the plants which has blue blooms and already has buds is a combination of dried leaves on dried looking tendrils and new green growth. Should I prune it? Should I just go ahead and prune them all? Any help would be appreciated.

If your clematis were planted last year..then it would not hurt to hard prune...I do mine for the first couple years for them to get a stronger root system which is essential..especially for the pruning group 2's to help aid against wilt...You can post pic of your blooms on this forum and we can try and ID them for you..it's important to get a close up of the sepals,anthers and connectives to get a proper ID...don't forget to give them either some rose or tomato fertilizer when you prune...Jeanne

Jeanne - my daughter doesn't keep tags for her clematis either. I saw them last week and suggested she cut back every other stem until she can get them identified. Would that work, regardless of the age of the plants? It might work for bmattingly, too.

You can hard prune the vines in front and leave the ones in back alone..that is one way ..and if you see them blooming on new vines..then you can go back and hard prune the ones in back ..It never hurts to just hard prune them all..if they are pruning group 2's she'll just lose the early blooms that she would have had and get to see them bloom in summer/fall....I would suggest she posts pics and get them ID-ed for future reference..I bought plant marker at the Co-op from Eons and I wrote the name and pruning group..so when I am out there ..I immediately have the info in front of me..I've really memorized them but some times I have a brain fart and am glad the marker is there..LOL...Jeanne

That's something I might do but my daughter isn't quite as involved with her garden as I am, thankfully. So she remains normal. It would be me who would take photos as the clematis bloom to get them identified. She ended up cutting back every other stem.

If I hard prune the ones that I recall blooming early, will I still get some blooms from them this year?

Yes..the early blooming ones are usually the Pruning group 2's..you only lose the Spring blooms..they will grow back up and bloom late summer..early fall...Jeanne

Gorgeous Pirl! You've got a Clematis tree growing next to your compost pile!

It loves it there, Shirley, as you can tell.

bmattingly - I pruned Ernest Markham down to a foot both last year and this year. Behind it is an azalea and when the clematis was in bloom all I could notice was the old faded azalea flowers. So, by pruning it down, last year I had the clematis blooming exactly six weeks later and not a spent azalea bloom in sight. It was actually very nice to have it bloom when it did since the other four in that garden had already finished.