PV, not sure if its a 1, 2,or 3 but I cut back ALL my in ground clematis during the month of March, and they all do well, but I don't cut them back to ground level, I cut them back to about 6 inches above the ground. Look it up and see which number catagory it falls into. I don't have the president, I have niobe, jackamani and a beautiful white and a montana variety but don't know the names of them off hand.

Alberta

Hey Alberta! 'The President' is a type 2 - I cut him down to about 12" back in late February, and he's since grown a good 4+ feet and bloomed. It's still growing, but the bottom and middle areas (leaves) of the plant are all browned - I'm not whether it was the heat we had or the cold we're having now. If it wasn't already so tangled up on the trellis, I'd take it down and just let it grow back onto itself and (maybe) cover the yucky parts. But that's not going to happen.

It sure is nothing to look at right about now ...

PV

Hi PV,
I would rather let them grow for now then cut them down later this winter so he'll get at least some growth this year.

Some of my clematis don't look so hot this year either. They are getting yellow and looking very unhealthy. Some of these are only 3 years old. Usually they turned yellow after several years. I have added Epsom salt to no avail.
Bummer.

Goof luck, PV.
P.S. I don't usually cut my type 2 down very low as I do type 3.

If you saw what I did to some of my Clematis this year, I'm not sure you'd be asking me what to do. LOL!! After letting my Claire De Lune run rampant for 5 years with a Haygley Hybrid, I finally took the pruners to the both of them. Not that you could figure out where was which in that beautiful mess, eh?!

In the end, the main plants have survived and are sending up shoots from very old wood at least 3/4" thick and I rescued 6 CDL and 4 HH which had rooted from stems playing on the ground.

I would think that pruning would be OK as long as the soil is kept moist and in good shape - so your thought of re-potting is something I would do.

Can you change the soil/re-pot without pruning? that's another option. I use Tomato Food on all my Clematis at the start of the year. They love it. Just a tip an old gardener once gave me since none of mine would bloom, but now they do so like no tomorrow.

It's hard to root clematis from stem cuttings. Much easier from 'layering' - just place a stem in the soil a couple of inches deep and wait for next year.

Hope this helps...

Wow! I've been feeding mine tomato food for the last couple of years too! Not 'cause of any tips, but because it was convenient - and they've bloomed to beat the band! Good to know I've been on the right track.

I read over on the clematis forum thay could benefit from a severe pruning after they finish blooming, especially if they're spindly - which mine is. With repotting, I can bury a piece of stem and see if anything happens for me.

I'm going to chance it - the worse that can happen is that I'll lose a plant I really have no room for. (Oh, my heart is beating fast already!)

PV

PV - I've got 'The President' growing on the NE corner of my house. It's currently got big, fat, healthy buds on it that should open any day. The surprise is there's no green foliage from the base of the plant up about 5 ft. to where the buds are growing. I don't prune it--the plant is only 4 years old so I figured on letting it get some size to it before getting drastic with the pruning shears. It didn't bloom at all last year but it did the year before that. I dumped wood ashes on it in January last year but not this year so I'm going to just take notes and see if a pattern emerges over the next few seasons.
All my other clematis, most planted last year, are going gangbusters. I'm growing them at the SE, NW and NE corners of the house just as an experiment to see if they do better in one location over another.
I'll be interested in hearing what happens with your commander in chief as the season progresses.
Best of luck!!

Hey, pv, I've been going to the clematis forum for several years and they are friendly and helpful.

It is not unusual for P:2 large flowering clematis to brown out (leaves turn brown on lower part of plant). That is why some like to plant tall perennials or annuals near the clematis, to cover the bare stems.

How long has your clematis been in the pot and how big is the pot?

If the President has been in your pot for many years it may be time to send it to a new home and replace it with one of the many patio clematis that won't outgrow the pot. I bought Cassis this spring to plant in a pot.

If the pot is at least 18" and The President hasn't been in it for many years I suggest you NOT repot. Each time clematis are transplanted it takes a year or two to re-establish a good root system.

Since yours is spindly pruning it and pinching the stems as they grow will encourage more stems coming from the bottom. Also it is so early in the year you may get some rebloom in the fall.

If you do repot be sure to plant it a few inches deeper than in your original pot. Also cut it back and keep it pinched this year.

As a last resort I have heard of root pruning an overgrown clematis and then repotting. Be sure to prune the stems also as it will need time to grow new roots.

Bobbie

Bobby, your comment about root pruning got me to thinking. The last time I repotted 'Mr. President', he'd been living in too small a pot for about 2 years. When I repotted it, I did some serious root pruning -

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But that was in March. By June, it was a bloom machine! I had forgottrn about it.

Oh, I'm cutting it back in another week or so! If not, I'll procrastinate and it won't get done. I've been talking about dividing and repotting too many things for too long ...

Thanks all!

PV