No - the treatment varies with each particular kind, depends on what growth type it has. Do a web search for "pruning clematis".

Clematis pruning can tend to be overly and unnecessarily complicated. Having grown a vast number of these vines for many years, IMO it can be simplified into those you prune and those you don't :-)

In the 'no prune' category are any evergreen types and those that may bloom either in late winter or very early spring (usually species). And even these can be pruned as desired, but immediately after flowering, as they bloom on previous seasons' growth.

Most of the rest - spring and summer blooming LFH's and the late summer/fall bloomers - do get pruned back on an annual basis, primarily to tidy the vine and keep the flowers at eye level. Various sources will tell you that you need to observe when the vine blooms and then prune either lightly (if a type 2/early to mid) or hard (if a type 3/mid to late). But in areas with a long growing season - like GA or here in the PNW - you can take all these vines back pretty hard and not worry excessively about 'light' or 'hard' pruning. All a hard pruning will do for a type 2 (light) is just push the flowering out a few weeks.

I think even our friend Babs, who lives in NH and is a very experienced grower of clems, does a hard prune on type 2's. It just makes life so much easier, especially if one grows a lot of different clematis, to simplify matters into either the prune or no-prune camp and ignore the rather nit-picky or "refined" pruning instructions :-) It is almost impossible to kill or even severely damage a clematis by pruning.........and there is also NO rule that says you must prune.

Here's a piece with pictures to illustrate the differences. https://www.finegardening.com/article/pruning-clematis

I hard prune them all. Except armandi and some of the atragenes. Some I hard prune twice. I would actually do more of them twice if I didn't work too much.

Ma nature hard prunes my type 2s down to the snow line most winters here in NH. They bloom just fine. Hummingbird Farm in central Maine calls type 2s “Don’t bother” pruning types for those of us in the frozen north because the vines typically die back and then regrow in spring. They suggest pruning out dead stuff after the leaves start sprouting. For you in GA, frnicholas, with your long growing season, you can enjoy the spring flowers and then prune some of the stems right after bloom, as well as any broken or damaged part of the vine to encourage new growth and a rebloom later in the summer.

Thanks for your help. I'll prune the dead stuff off for next spring.

What looks dead now (no leaves) may not be dead. Wait until buds start swelling in spring to tell what is dead if you want earliest bloom. But if you prune everything back, it will still bloom, just delayed by a few weeks.

What I have now is some brown, withered leaves and some new green ones. We are having warm weather (mid70s). Should I keep watering or let it go dormant?

Clematis like even moisture, not too wet or dry. So use how the soil feels several inches down to determine whether to water. Here, I stop watering when the ground freezes, but that won’t apply in GA. Just let the plant decide when to go dormant.

Pruning Techniques

This group (1) of clematis produce their flowers directly from old stems and, therefore, pruning must not be done until right after all flowering has been completed. Prune this group by removing all dead and weak stems immediately after flowering. Large established plants over 15 feet are normally not pruned, especially if they are growing in trees. All stems at this time should be tied into position on their trellis or other host. Also, if the Clematis has outgrown their space the correct and only time to prune to size is right after flowering is done. After pruning new growth will begin, this being the stems for next year’s flowers.

In this group (2) all first flowering comes from last season’s ripened stems. In early Spring watch for swelling leaf buds beginning to show. Cut all dead material off above these swelling buds. Be sure all growth is tied to trellis at this time. Do not tie too tightly, so growth can begin and not hampered by tying too tight or cracking these stems.

This group(3) blooms later and from new growth. This group should be pruned in February or March to 6”-8” as new leaf buds begin to show low on the plant. All dead material above these buds should be removed at this time. Clean out any old foliage or foliage with mildew at this time also.

Dakota Mae, pruning techniques vary somewhat with location. Where I am in northern New England, most group 2s get killed back to the snow line, so Mother Nature is hard pruning them. They bloom just fine, but slightly delayed. So even in warmer areas you can hard prune all but the type 1’s and still get great bloom.