Get out your coat and boots :-) NOW is the ideal time! I just noticed the development of fat buds on many of mine and that signals to me that pruning time has arrived!!

And pruning does produce significant benefits. Hard pruning for any type 2's or 3's for their first few season does encourage additional stemming, resulting in a stronger and more floriferous plant and less vulnerable to damage (or wilt). And type 3's or those that bloom on the current season's growth need that hard pruning each season to a) keep size in check; b) keep flowers at a visible height; and c) keep the vine tidy and free of dead stems and foliage.

The only time I veer away from this timing is with type 1 clems or the so-called 'no-prune' varieties. These often need to be cut back to control size and that is best done immediately after flowering.

Your location isn't as important as the specific cultivar. generally speaking, clematis that bloom off current season growth should be pruned early spring to encourage a lot of new growth which will produce a lot of blooms. Those that bloom off old growth, should be pruned soon after blooming to produce a lot of old growth for the next year. Those that bloom off new and old are treated the same as those that bloom off old growth. The problem is there are officially 3 distinct types of clematis. In reality, the lines can be blurred. Some may be type 2 in most applications, but type 3 in your garden. You have to observe how they grow in your garden before deciding how to prune. Another issue is clematis aren't always what you think you have. They're mislabeled and/or what one vendor thinks is A, is actually B. There are so many cultivars that look alike, but grow differently.

Some people recommend pruning type 3's or even others to 6" to 12" from the ground. I have a book about viticellas that says that's out of date and to prune to the ground.

Having grown far too many different clematis over the years (a previous garden had more than 60!), I have simplified pruning to those vines that get pruned and those that do not. And those that get pruned annually ALL get treated the same......a hard prune down to the second set of buds or somewhere around 12-18". With the length and mildness of the PNW growing season for clems, this treatment has almost no impact on the flowering of group 2 clems except to delay the initial bloom cycle slightly.

erasmus, that recommendation to prune back group 3's to around 6-12" (or the second set of buds) has been in practice for well over a hundred years with excellent results. I'd be interested to know why your book suggests pruning to the ground. It offers NO benefit to the vine other than perhaps stimulating multiple stems from the root crown but also does not allow the stems to enlarge and become sufficiently woody.

Almost all of mine are pruners that flower on new wood. i try to make it easy for myself. :o)

I looked it up in my viticella book and there is really no explanation why. There is a diagram showing three old stems pruned and five little shoots coming up, so I think the idea is that it'll encourage more stems. It really would be nice to have more of an explanation as it seems the old method also works to encourage new stems. I have pruned a few already and pruned one to the ground and some to the first set of buds. I have also heard of pruning some stems hard and leaving some longer if you want the plant to attain more height.