How and when to trim Clematis

Negan

I have this Clematis in garden and as you can see has several ‘stick’ sections. The flowers are beginning and I wondered how or when I should trim. I also attached a picture from last May when in flower and it looked very well then. I do not know what type of Clematis this is.

Obelixx

I take it the top picture is last May?

If so, I would prune it back hard now to a low pair of buds on each stem and then remove all the twiggy growth and give it a generous feed and watering.  You can get specialist slow release granular feed for clematis but rose or tomato fertiliser will do as they also have the nutrients that promote flower production.   Keep it watered thru the growing season and give it a weekly feed of liquid rose or tomato fertiliser from April to late June.

Is it in a pot for a reason?   That one looks very small for a clematis so, if you can, plant it out in the ground.   Clematis are hungry, thirsty plants with thick, fleshy roots that like to go down deep.     Whether you plant it in the ground or keep it in a pot it needs more root space, at least 60cm wide and deep.

It will need feeding every spring and new shoots should be rained in as horizontally or diagonally as possible on those wire supports.   This will encourage foliage and flowers lower down and less of the bare twiggy look.   It will be later to flower this year after the renovation pruning but in future years I would expect it behave like a group 2 and flower in May on last year's stems.   Once flowering finishes you can cut back stems to remove any dead or broken ones and keep it in bounds but this year, just let it be and grow.

Negan

Thank you. Yes the Picture with flowers is last May. The Clematis was at the house when we moved in last year in the pot and I have not changed. I will try and cut it as suggested at the weekend.

Cambridgerose12

This looks like one of the small evergreen varieties to me, such as Clematis x cartmanii, especially if it’s flowering now in April. If that’s the case then you will kill it if you prune it now. Check on the website of somewhere like Taylor’s or Thorncroft Clematis under varieties like ‘Joe’ or ‘Avalanche’ or ‘Moonbeam’, and see if it resembles those. As I recall they are no-prune varieties.

Obelixx

Doesn't look evergreen to me!  It's practically naked.

BenCotto

To get a better look

Looking at the Taylor’s website I wonder if it is Cartmanii Avalanche as CambridgeRose says, or maybe Mrs George Jackman.

edhelka

Cartmanii group has different leaves, this is probably something from group 2.

squirral87k4-WvGwT

Try the PlantNet app to identify your clematis. It’s helped me identify plants in my garden. Very easy to use. 

Negan

Thank you all for help, and getting the pictures right way around. I have looked on http://www.clematisontheweb.org/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=592 and think this could be a Manshuu Ki. The petals etc look quite similar. Would you agree?

Obelixx

This website - http://clematisontheweb.org/new-clemlistsearch.cfm - lists thousands of clematis, nothing but clematis, and can be searched by colour, anther colour, size, flowering time etc.