Peter..the type of Pruning Regime depends on the variety you have..if they are Hard Prune aka Pruning type 3 then you prune them in Late winter/early Spring or same time you do your Roses or When the Forsythias are in bloom..If they are Pruning type 2..you don't prune except to shape and that is done after their first bloom period is over...Jeanne

Thanks Jeanne - I have the tags that came with them and don't see anything about pruning types. One is "Sunset" clematis (clematis hybrid) which blooms in early summer to early autumn and the other is "Polish spirit" (clematis viticella) which blooms in mid to late summer. Last year I pruned them both to about 12 inches above the ground in the fall, just about now, and they did really well. So maybe I'll do that again this year. I just didn't want to keep doing something I shouldn't be doing!!!

Peter!!..You did good!!..Sunset is a pruning group 2 but I treat all my pruning group 2's like 3's the first prune season so they will focus on their root system, since they are the pruning group that is more likely to "Wilt"...I would not prune this time and see how it does..I am leaving you a link for Clematis "Sunset" from the Website "Clematis on the Web" aka COTW...this is a great site to save in your favorites as it is invaluable for researching info on any clematis...you can use the "Clematis A-Z" on the main page to check a clematis by clicking on that and then the first letter in the name of the Clematis..this will give you pruning type,bloom period,parentage, height and width...etc
Your Clematis "Polish Spirit" is a Pruning group 3..so continue hard pruning it about an inch above a leaf axil as you have been...well done...Jeanne

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis

Pruning in late Winter is better than pruning now. As Jeanne has said other places if not here, "when the forsythia blooms".

So, if you don't have a forsythia, look for someone else's as you drive.

Marie

Jeanne and Eden - Thank you very much for the info. I tied that link, but they won't let you save it to your Favorites, so I'll just have to keep it around and go in whenever I have time.

Thanks again

Pat

Early spring is better than Fall no matter what pruning group they are.