Pruning young clematis to promote bushy growth

David.lifedrawing

Hi, I've got a clematis 'lemon beauty' which I believe is c. macropetala and group 1 and it's sent up a two or three stems which have already shot up to 6ft high in just a couple of months. 

I'd like to encourage further stems to grow so I have a bushier plant and not just two or three leggy stems. But I'm also keen to have flowers next spring and not cut out the wood that it will flower on.

Any advice on when / how to prune (if at all) to achieve this? 

Thanks!

Fairygirl

I never pruned mine as it was a mature enough plant, and once untied and re attached, it had good coverage,and then I just tied in any new stuff as it was produced. They tend to grow slightly differently from the big Group 3 types, and produce new stems and shoots from old ones. 
However, you can prune it back if you want. If done now, it should put on good new growth which you can tie in. You should still get some flowers in spring 

I cut an alpina right back last August to adjust the trellis behind it. It was covering almost the same area again by spring, although I had fewer flowers.