Hello
I would like to clean up this Tie-Dyed Clematis to thin it out a bit and try to get it to grow more uniformly on the trellis. How sensitive is the plant to moving vines around, trimming vines, and cutting it back?
I planted this about 5 or more years ago.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
by buttownbilly
5 Comments
I forgot to add that I am in Zone 6b.
If it’s the tie dye variant, it prefers hard pruning as they bloom in new wood. In other words you can go nuts with the pruning and it’ll bloom prolifically.
According to some research, this clematis falls into pruning group C. This means you can prune it all the way back to a couple of strong buds near the base of the plant and it will come back just fine. It blooms on new wood.
Tie Dye is a [type 3 clematis](https://www.ashwoodnurseries.com/product/clematis-tie-dye/#:~:text=Product%20description,feeding%20with%20Chempak%20Clematis%20Food.) so it can [be pruned hard in late winter or early spring](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/clematis/group-three-pruning-guide#:~:text=Regular%20pruning%20of%20clematis%20encourages,Suitable%20for…). Basically you can prune as much as you are comfortable with. Yours is gorgeous!
Clematis can be drama queens about their roots, but the vines are surprisingly resilient. Just make sure you know your Group! Since this looks like a Group 2 or 3, you can be fairly brave with the thinning. Just take it slow think of it like untangling Christmas lights btw the color payoff on that Tie-Dyed variety is absolutely incredible