Another one for clematis growers?

Ok....I got my first clematis at a Lowe's garden center. It was in a 1 gallon container growing onto a mini trellis. I've had it in the ground for about a month and a half now and it hasn't quite taken to the fence yet. I thought about cutting it in certain areas to free it up a bit, but the only thing I did was pull the base of the trellis out of the ground, gave it a deep watering and replaced the mulch. Do I need to cut parts of the trellis to give it more room to grow, or will it do this on its own?

Another one for clematis growers?
Are you providing something else for the Clematis to climb on other than the trellis that it came with? If so, then remove the one that it came with. You can do that but cutting it away if it is wooden. If metal, carefully untwine the Clematis from it and begin to allow it to climb on the new support (new trellis, shrub, rose, etc). You can gently tie it up if you want to help it along.





Now, in regards to pruning. There are 3 types of Clematis and each plant falls into one of these types. The types help determine the proper pruning method for it. So, do not do any cutting until you have determined which type you have and how/when to prune it. If you prune at the wrong time, you could end up without any blooms next year.





Go here are see the types and pruning instructions:


http://www.clematis.com.pl/wms/wmsg.php/...





Now, get the name of yours and do a search for it. Once at a website, it should tell you what type you have and then you will know how to prune.





Also, these are slow to establish so I'm not surprised you aren't noticing any great going on at the moment. Just be patient as these beauties take time. Know that almost all of them are deciduous and go dormant in the winter (I think only 1 or 2 species are evergreen). The mulch is fine just be sure it isn't sitting at the crown of the plant or it will rot out. Clematis enjoy moist soil and their roots in the shade. The rest of the plant can be in full sun but they like their feet cool.





Hope this helps. :)