I cut mine back to within a foot of the ground each year after it finishes blooming. The blooms are fading fast and not looking good right now so it will soon be time.

I forgot to mention that if I cut it back that far, there will be no foliage on it at all. Is this still alright? I won't kill the plant? Do you fertilize at this time or leave it alone?

Thank you! :-)

i can only report on my experience doing that last year to my ramona. i was just sick of her straggly nature and cut 90% of her down leaving only a few leaves. she did not generate much new growth afterwards, probably due to our hot summer weather hitting and slowing her down. there was not enough time in my zone for her to have a second flush in the fall. this spring she has a rather measely bloom performance, blooms low down near the ground on old wood combined with a fair bit of haphazard but healthy new growth which won't bloom until late june i think. all in all, quite an uneven sight.

based on this one-time personal experience, my humble suggestion is that you leave it, and then prune it down to 12" off the ground in early spring to allow for a more even orderly regeneration. but don't know how your area in MA could differ from here in northern NJ.

I cut my Ramona back hard last year, below the leaves on most stems and this year it is far fuller and had far more flowers than ever. Ditto macropetala Rosy O'Grady, Henryii and alpina Willy. They were all scraggly leggy ugly with a few blooms.

Your zone is colder though, you may want to wait until spring.

You could cut some stems down now and leave some if cutting them all seems too drastic. No rule says you have to cut all stems at the same height.

I cut mine back this spring so I wouldn't have to untangle the old deadwood vines from the new growth. Personally I don't think you could go wrong either way with it. I cut quite a few of my clematis back in full summer when they brown out and they come back like gangbusters. Even if you are in a colder zone and the plant doesn't put out a lot of foliage through the summer, you might have fewer flowers early next spring, but the plant will grow from spring through the summer and you will have a flush of flowers later in the season. So the answer is up to you. If you are going to be disappointed like Kitova with a meager performance in the spring, then don't cut it back now. If you are willing to sacrifice some blooms in the spring for your full flush later in the season, go for it!

Thanks for sharing all your experiences. I was just out looking at the clematis and noticed there is new growth from the base that is about 8" high already and reaching the first rung of the trellis. Looks like about 2 stems of very healthy looking growth. We did topdress with compost this spring so maybe that helped. So I could cut the older growth back to the ground and the new growth should give it plenty of leaves to keep it going. Haven't decided yet when to cut it back. I may just leave it until the spring and just deadhead it after it flowers.

Thanks!
:-)