Deadheading clematis is similar to deadheading roses in that if you don't get all the stem it will eventually turn brown and die off anyway..I remove the whole 4" myself...Jeanne

Thanks Jeanne!

Since it's not always easy to get at the base of the stem, does it do the plant any harm to let the stem brown itself?

No, it won't hurt it.

agreed..it doesn't hurt

Thank you =)

We're not all that fussy about deadheading clematis. We have perhaps 50 plants and many of the spent flowers are hard to get at. I know it's a no-brainer but be careful not to accidently snip the main vine when deadheading. Over the years we've learned to double check every cut on clematis 'just in case'. Yup, done 'oops' a couple of times over the years when pruning or cleaning up a clemmie.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Buzz

Oh cutting the stem is a huge fear! You can never be too careful. It's a good reminder. =)

Meharty (and Jeanne). My view, for what it's worth, is to follow the horticultural rule: snip back to a bud or node. Cutting higher would/will probably result in dieback to the next growing point as there is no way the plant can produce growth where there is no bud/node! Dieback can, though not always, result in bacterial/fungal infection to the plant, such as is common in roses. No, I'd never snip a rose nor a clem. below a bud!

I'm sorry, last night in reading this posting I overlooked the fact mehearty was just 'deadheading', and I responded as though she/he were generally pruning - as in pruning a rose. Now, by the way, just to practice my pic. posting, and as conrtibuters to this page know, I really have no clematis pics to post but I'm working on that; so, I just thought I'd give you folks a look at an Aussie native that I've struggled with for some years but now at last have got to flower (I try a plant three times, if after that I can't succeed I give up and don't try it again). It's a native of (the state of) Western Australia, and therefore not easy to grow in the eastern states, which is where I am: It's 'The Black Kangaroo Paw', or Macropegia fulignosa.

{{gwi:618250}}

WOW, Funnelweb, I just wanted to butt in and say that that's a fabulous plant you've got there! That black fuzz is just so handsome, and I think I'd be hard pressed to not stop and pet it every time I walked by...

Thanks for posting it!

Lara