Hello Fellow Gardeners,

Pruning Clematis can be confusing but I will try to simplify it for you!

For pruning purposes, Clematis are divided into three different groups…

Group one

You can tell if your clematis belongs to group one if they bloom early in the Spring (April and/or May). Clematis from group one are very easy to take care of! No pruning is necessary except for removing dead wood and debris. This category blooms on old wood first thing in the Spring and if any pruning is necessary it should be done “after bloom” just like your other spring blooming plants (such as lilacs). These are hardy plants so you do not have to worry about dieback!

Popular clematis in this group: C. alpina, C. Macropetala, C. armandii, C. Montana and C. chrysocoma

Constance, Alpine (left) Pamela Jackman, Alpine (middle) Helsingborg, Alpine (right)

Group Two

You can tell if your clematis belongs to group two if it blooms in mid season (June and later). They will bloom first on old wood, and then later they will bloom on new growth (new wood). The blooms are double and semi double large hybrid flowers.

It is recommended that moderate pruning be done to maintain this plant. First check to see how much dieback occurred over winter, and remove the dieback to the new growth when the clematis starts to bud or leaf out. If by some miracle you did not have dieback then trim back the clematis by 1/3 at the top.

It is different every year, some years are better than others. But do not let that discourage you, for I had clematis that died back to the ground and came up just fine!
Popular clematis in this group: Nelly Moser, Miss Bateman, Lasurstern, Duchess of Edinburgh, Mrs. Cholmondeley, Niobe, Royal Velvet red, President, and Rosemoor.

Niobe (left) Josephine (middle) Rosemoor (right)

Group 3

This group is made up of the easiest clematis to prune! The clematis in group three bloom from summer to late fall (July-September).

All you have to do is hard prune! Simply trim the entire clematis down to 18 inches or so off the ground in the Spring when the buds begin to swell (basically when the leaves just start to come out). These clematis only bloom on new wood.

Popular clematis in this group:

C. viticella, C. flammula, C. tangutica,C. xjackmanii, Perle d’Azur, Royal Velours, Duchess of Albany, Countesse de Bouchard, Ernest Markham, Lady Betty Balfour, Rhapsody, Victor Hugo, Polish Spirit, Madame Julia Correvon , Amanda Marie, Etoile Violettes, Huldine, Ville de Lyon, Bonanza.

Bonanza (left), Durandii (middle), Patrica Ann Fretwell (right)

Sweet Autumn (left) Jackmanii (middle) Ville de Lyon (right)

If by chance you do not know which of the 3 groups your Clematis belong to, do not despair! There is a good tip to make it easy for you to find out…

Do not do anything to your clematis for the first season, just pay attention to when and how many times it flowers. This will let you determine which group your clematis belong to.

A Different School of Thought

Depending on which book you get your information from, there are different schools of thought on the subject of pruning, which can lead to some confusion.

Here is another rule that you can follow if you so desire…

If you do not want to prune your clematis you don’t have to unless…

It is too big for the area chosen for it

The blooms end up all at the top of the plants where you can’t see them or enjoy them

You have a great deal of dieback due to our cold winters

For more information I found two particularly helpful links…

Garden Action
Clematis Nursery

Both of these sites have some great diagrams to help you through the whole pruning process!

Stay tuned for my next article on planting clematis and some foolproof tips on how to grow them!
Happy Gardening,
Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

I just wanted to share with you the first flowers of Spring! Daffodils, Squills, Glory in the Snow, and Crocus are all heralding in the Spring with their purples and yellows, whites and blues! Just think, soon there will be tulips, lilacs, alliums, and irises! Ooooh, the color!

I encourage you to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful warm weather, and even to snap a few pictures of anything that’s waking up in your garden after the long cold winter! It’s a great time of year right now– no bugs, light breezes, and plenty of sunshine! Don’t you just love Spring!?

Keep watching the Daily Weeder for some great flower photography tips!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne

Hello Fellow Gardeners,

In honor of Spring I decided we would hold a contest where you can win one of my all time favorite roses! I’ve said before that roses being hard to take care of is just a myth, and this rose proves it!
The Robusta rose is the easiest rose I know! To enter to win this amazing rose just tell us in your comments below…

“What is one of your favorite tried and true garden tips?”

Since I have such a hard time deciding who will win since all your comments are so wonderful, I decided…

We will give away 1 rosebush to 3 winners!

Here is what Heirloom Roses has to say about the Robusta Rose…

“Robusta’ would make a nice addition to any garden even if it didn’t bloom which it does in profusion. Rated as the number 1 rose in America by the A.R.S. Eye-catching, single, red blooms in clusters produced in abundance on a vigorous, upright bush with beautiful, medium-green, glossy, leathery foliage. The thick canes are covered with nail-like prickles. For specimen planting, fence, hedge or impenetrable barrier. Continual bloom.”

The shrub grows to six feet, and produces incredibly beautiful red fragrant clusters of blooms.

I’ve had enormous success with this rose, I consider it one of the stars of my garden! I’ve had the shrub for three years and it is already up to four feet! However, if you don’t care for a huge bush, you can keep it trimmed down to the size you need.

Here are the contest rules and all the small print…

- We reserve the right to provide a gift certificate of an equal value instead of the rose (in case the rose sells out or some other disaster happens!).

- There will be only one rose given to each of the three winners!

- The contest lasts until Mother’s Day, Sunday May 13th, at which time we will choose the three winners.

- You must provide a tip to enter the contest, any other comments will not be considered.

- We choose the winners at our sole discretion.

I hope you enjoy the contest! Write away!

Happy Gardening,

Marie Suzanne