Jeff’s Purple Clematis Vine

August 1st, 2010

The purple clematis vine that we have growing over an arbor is just beautiful this time of year! I think most of the flowers are now in bloom, but it has been blooming for almost a month. It’s one of the prettiest things in our back yard and showcases an area that Jeff calls his “park.” I like to call it the secret garden!

Pruning Clematis - Our clematis vine is summer/fall bloomer, which means it blooms on the current season’s growth. He wouldn’t HAVE to prune these clematis vines, but he does because if he didn’t, it would be an unruly mess. I can usually find him pruning clematis vines in the Fall, taking about 1/3 of the plant off. Also, if you don’t do some clematis pruning, you will NOT get as many flowers the next year. You can see that his strategy really pays off.

Pruning clematis that grow in the spring is a little different because spring blooming clematis flower on last year’s growth – you’ll need to do your pruning as soon as they finish blooming. Spring blooming clematis vines use the entire season to replenish themselves and set buds tor the next year.

At this point we prefer our summer clematis vine. It will be a real bummer when this beautiful clematis vine is done blooming.

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