I bought several clematis from Silver Star Vinery last fall, including an Etoile Violette. Debbie gave me detailed instructions on care and mentioned that she likes to prune both group 2 and group 3 clems hard (down to the lowest set of buds) in the spring in their first two seasons, to encourage lots of new shoots and branching at the base. I haven't checked on mine recently but I plan to have a look this weekend to see if they are ready for a haircut!

biondanonima, that is a recommended practice for ANY type of clematis, even the 'no-prune' types :-)

Good to know! My husband actually accidentally "pruned" (weedwhacked) a young Type 1 clematis last fall so I'm glad to know he didn't do too much damage! :)

Unless a very well-established, mature vine with a thick 'trunk', hard pruning - even at inopportune times - is typically not a concern for any clematis :-)

I just went out and looked at it. Most of the taller growth is from the existing stems from last year. I think I'm seeing some new sprouts at the base also but those aren't very tall. So I guess I should just go ahead and prune. I am timid about clematis and it seems finicky and difficult, yet it sounds like it can be pretty tough and vigorous. I will try some in pots as well as what I planted in the ground recently. I bought mine from Debbie also. Got Venosa Violacea, and Daniel Duronda but think I want to get some pale ones too. Thanks for your advice.

Erasmus,Clematis aren't finicky IME, so whack away. I usually clip them back to a couple of bud pairs per stem. I've found that Silver Star Vinery's plants do well in my garden.

Biondanomina, I prune my clematis any time after we've had a hard freeze and it's winter. So here, that's from some time in December through early April, whenever the snow isn't too deep. I like not waiting until the typical spring bud swell because it is a garden task I can do when I am itching to get out in the garden but the ground is still too frozen to do much. Having the ground still frozen also means I don't have to worry about compacting soil. Plus in many spots I don't want to have to look at dead vines all winter.

Well, I've lost three clematis plants in the past. I had a fairly good but not very large H.F. Young plant but the location became too shaded. I think it's still alive so maybe could move it. I lost another couple of plants in dry locations. I have worked on my soil for many years but it is still fast draining and in summer can be powdery dry in some areas. I wish there was more clay in the soil.

My sympathies. In general the spring blooming large-flowered hybrids like HF Young are a bit fussier than the summer bloomers IME. For care, I add as much organic matter as possible when preparing the bed they will go into, mulch on the surface, and at least an inch of water a week, or more if it feels dry an inch down. They don't like drying out. I don't know where you are, but in my area we usually get enough rain for them, so the only fuss I have is providing them a wire cage to protect them from voles when I plant. I've lost a bunch to voles eating their roots, so I now only plant in hardware cloth cylinders.

Eventually I'm probably going to have to do something about voles. For a long time I didn't have any or had few. Now there's a population explosion. All methods of killing them bother me but I guess I should get over it. Do you kill voles or just live with them? How big around do you make your wire cylinders?

The soil in my front yard is much richer, darker, and more moisture retentive than most other parts of my garden. So I planted my new clematis plants in the front yard. We live on the east side of mountains, which I think is dryer than the west side. Sometimes we get adequate rain and sometimes we have prolonged drought. I am overextended with the size of my garden in terms of what I can keep watered in times of drought. I pretty much depend on rain. I water less established plants but not so much the big ones. I have a lot of roses, which are pretty drought tolerant. Maybe I can't grow clematis in parts of my garden but I'm going to keep trying. I think more mulch, planting deep, and knowing better how to prune might make some difference. If not, I can always grow some in pots.

Sometimes I think about amending soil with clay. Some people on GW have used cat litter for dry soil, thinking that it absorbs moisture and then releases it. I have never quite understood how anything that takes moisture out of the soil will overall be good for plants. Like those water crystals. I guess in times when it is really wet it doesn't hurt for them to absorb some of the water. But when it is moderately damp it seems like they'd take up water the plants need. Maybe I should address these questions on the soil forum.

I have bought mushroom compost , but it seems to me it used to be a better product. Last couple of times I bought it it had a lot of sand mixed in it.

Many types of cat litter are made of clay, but I prefer to add compost. In my case I use composted horse manure since it's free from the neighbor down the road, but in the past have composted large quantities of leaves that I picked up from others.

I found that using those polymer water crystals in my pots made a huge difference. They soak up a lot of water when it's wet (go from the size and appearance of rock salt to looking and feeling like 1" jello cubes) and the plants actually root into them along with the soil since they have moisture for a long time. So if you water, little of the water runs off or drains through the soil until the polymer chunks are well-hydrated.

if you have gutters, would adding a bypass that allows you to fill a rain barrel near the clematis help? You could add a valve and hose that would allow you to release a long, slow trickle of water to give the clematis a good drink in dry weather, which wouldn't require much time or any well or city water on your part.

A town very nearby has a leaf composting facility and used to charge $10 for a big pick up truck load of it. I used to get loads of it every spring and guess it has helped my soil. I no longer have a truck. Before I had a truck I'd bag it up and they let me have that for free. I found a fairly nearby horse stable last year that gave us some manure. My plants did well last year after a top dressing of manure. But even with many additions of compost my soil drains fast. It is a breeze to dig, but I wish it was heavier.

That's a good idea on the rain barrels. Interesting to hear that the polymer crystals work for you.