Confused about clematis pruning groups
I am adding clematis Abilene to my growing collection and would welcome advice: a number or excellent suppliers consider this plant to belong to group 3; others (and the RHS) classify it as belonging to group 2....... obviously this will affect the way it is correctly pruned. Hard or light pruning? I am hoping those who already grow this variety will offer advice.
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This excellent site says it's a group 2 so light prune after first flush of flowers and a generous feed to encourage a second flush later on. http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=3788
In my last garden - central Belgium - I treated all my group 2s as group 3s because winters were usually cold enough to kill of all the top growth that would normally produce the new buds and shoots and flowers. As long as they were pruned hard in March and given a handful each of proper clematis food and protected from slugs, they all produced lots of new growth and one longer flush of flowers in summer so you takes your pick and makes your choice.
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