Clematis pruning

yvonnerob25

Hi all I have a clematis currently in flower, no idea how long its been in but looks sparse and woody lowdown with a mass of flowers high up. No idea if its ever been pruned and I've never pruned it in the 3 years i've been in the house. So how and when should I prune it. Picture below, anyone advise on the variety 
Rob

yvonnerob25

Fairygirl

Hi Yvonne - it's one of the Montanas, so it covers a big area if left unattended, and can often be a bit bare round the bottom.
You can do a couple of things to remedy it. You can prune it back  and then retrain new growth across and around the lowers areas to get better coverage, or even just pick a couple of stems/branches to prune back and achieve that. They get vigorous, so it's not hard to capture a bit of new growth and tie it in horizontally. 
It looks as if you have a new shoot or two over to the right as well, so those could be trained across and tied in with twine. Initially, they could be  tied onto a cane leaned across until they reach the trellis.

The other alternative is to plant a few more perennials and spring bulbs in front to cover the gappiness, but I'd be inclined to do the former. You could still plant some bulbs though.

Kitty 2

Looks very like my montana 'Warwickshire Rose', which is in clematis pruning group one. 
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=344

yvonnerob25

yvonnerob25

Also meant to say there is a honeysuckle (bright green foliage) just next to it

Rubytoo

Sorry not sure if I missed in the replies, but just in case, prune it after it has finished flowering.
(Whether hard or not quite so depending on your bravery or retraining bits skills).
It gives the wood time to mature so you get flowers next year.
Don't leave it too late, and keep an eye on it the new growths, they will romp away and get entwined while your back is turned.