How do I winterize clematis?

do I cut the vine back to the ground or leave it alone

How do I winterize clematis?
best bet is mulch 6" or so in the late fall after temperatures drop but before the ground freezes, un mulch in the spring after the last frost. watch how your clematis is growing, new growth out of the ground? new growth off 1 year old vines? don't cut it back yet wait till it flowers. flowers off 1st year (new) growth or flowers off new vines that started off old growth.


by doing this you will be able to determine how far back to prune in the spring of the next year to keep it flowering.
Reply:NJ, muskox excusing Chen Wei FHA,f couldn't
Reply:Never ever cut the vines back. The new growth in the spring will come out on the old vines.


I made the mistake of cutting the vines back one year and it took another year for the clematis to gorw big enough to bloom. No don't cut the vines back. You really don't need to do anything to the plant it will die back on it's own for the winter.
Reply:Depending on variety you can cut them back or not. If they are a mess, like the one encountered this past spring, I cut all vines back to approximately 6" from the ground and it came back beautifully. I am not sure how old this one is though, since we just moved into this home last fall. I have some at the old home also, and have never cut them back yet because they are so young.
Reply:Leave it alone and place about six inches of pine straw mulch over the roots. This is what I do, and it blooms beautifully every year. I've had mine four years now and I live in North Central South Carolina if that is any help.


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Just saw the first ans. The mulch must be the key, not whether or not you cut it back!
Reply:Depends on where you live. If you have cold winters, cut the vines back to ground level, cover them with bark mulch, then with a sack or some kind of ground cover. If you live in a fairly mild climate - just cut them back.
Reply:Depends on where you live. I live in Oklahoma, my numerous clematis do fine without mulching or pruning. I only prune if there is some dead vines or it is getting out of hand.
Reply:I chopped some of mine fairly well alomst to the growund. however, it never really came back... turns out that there are different kinds of clematis (about 300 different varieties) and it realy depends on which kind you have... I would see if you can't figure oiut what kind you have before you start chopping it back. Check out the site below.





Good luck
Reply:I always cut mine down to about 4 inches then cover with mulch or a 5 gallon bucket. There might be a better way but mine always come back nice and full.Works for me.