wintering clematis?

Question

Do I cut my clematis plant down for the winter or wait till spring for new shoots.I live in a cold climate.

Answer 1

It depends which variety of clematis you have. Some bloom in spring on last year's growth . Some only bloom on new growth. Some on both. If you have the kind that only blooms on old wood, if you cut it down this autumn, you will find yourself with no flowers next year!

Answer 2

Cut the plant in the fall unless you want blooms high up on the plants. The plant will sent out new shoots in the spring from the "dead or dormant" branches that are higher up the plant. Often the botton of the plant will be bare as clematis tends to clump and twine around itself. If you want new growth from the bottom, trim in the fall after the plant has gone dormant. If you want your blooms to begin higher up in the spring, dont prune in the fall.

Answer 3

I live in Iowa and Nebraska area.. I generally mulch the bottom of the plant really good in the fall of the year before the ground freezes to protect the roots.. If you have your vines trained up a trellis or something leave them til spring.. I mulch the bottoms to make sure if it is a first year planting that the root don't get damaged to much from the frost.. remember to water through out the winter they still need water as the snow melt may not be enough..for them.. In the spring you can see what vines have the new buds on them and trim back what isn't going to get buds. and go from there.. alot of people cut them way back but it takes so long for them to come back up and get started again..plus old vines will give it something to climb back up again.
grass clippings is a very good mulch.. try not to get right on the stem of the plant because grass clippings get hot when aging. leave about a two inch spot around the base.
good luck and they will be very pretty for you again next year. dig in the mulch around your plant in the spring builds up the soil careful don't damage the roots of the plant when digging.

Answer 4

find out which type of clematis it is in a plant expert book and follow instructions for care of your clematis