I think what they may be getting at is that you don't need to cut group 3 down as hard as is routinely done. They do bloom on new wood, but new wood grows from anywhere along the vine. If you don't cut it low to the ground, the new wood will be higher up. That may be where you want it. Many people say 'ah, but then you get bare stems at the base...' Sometimes that doesn't matter, or you can cut a few stems lower to provide cover at the base, while leaving most of the new growth higher up. I regularly do not cut back group 3 hard. I just selectively trim some lower stems and leave a lot of the rest fairly long. If there are more/longer stems, there are more places for new growth to rise, making more places for flowers to emerge. More expert clematis growers pooh-pooh my approach but it works for me and I'll keep doing it. I planted a Betty Corning last year so I don't have any relevant experience with that one yet. I know it's supposed to be very vigorous and long-blooming. A few pictures of group 3s not hard pruned: Jackmani Superba that had never been cut back hard for seven years: It'll be interesting to see what that one does this year because it got cut back very hard last summer when we took out the New Dawn roses that shared the arbour with it. The clematis on the chainlink fence on the side is also a Jackmani Superba that gets cut back to the top of the fence (4') each year. I'm not sure what the clematises on the copper fence are - they were supposed to be Huldine, but clearly aren't! They are only two years old in that picture (2010) so are still a bit skimpy. I prefer not to have to do a lot of pruning so most of my clematises are group 2. Last summer we replaced the New Dawn rose swag with clematises. They are a mix of group 2 and 3 but I intend to treat all of them as light/no prune. It'll be a couple of years before I can see if that will work well or not. My experience to date has certainly led me to believe that one does not have to rigidly adhere to the pruning 'rules' to get a showy display and happy vines.

Annette - I usually give the clematises some clematis fertilizer in spring - if I remember! I forgot to this spring and it hasn't seemed to hurt them.... :-) But I figure all that prolific flowering must use up a lot of energy so I will try not to forget to fertilize next spring. DH likes to garden too - he's largely responsible for the veggies in pots and, because I'm physically disabled, he does the heavier labour like digging big planting holes and pruning tall things. We generally work well together in the garden - although he sometimes misunderstands my instructions and cuts down the wrong thing or does something 'the wrong way' :-) But nothing dire happens... His assistance is vital to the garden here and is greatly appreciated by me! I know somebody like that clematis person you mention. She has a 10 acre property - and goodness knows how many clematises! She is 'responsible' for getting me into growing more of them. She and her DH are moving to BC this fall, so that clematis lady will have some competition soon... :-)

All I can say is I always got what I expected. I have a half-dozen Jackmani--some bought different years, and possibly from different garden centers. They all came out looking about the same--larger flowers. I also ordered online 1 etoile violette. It looks right to me--somewhat smaller flower and leaf, wider spaces between blooms, etc. On the other hand, many people buy them when they are not in bloom, so I wouldn't be surprised sometimes if they get a mislabled one. I'm still wondering about the difference between a regular Jackmani and the so-called "improved" Jackmani Superba. Have no idea which I may have. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say. Kate

I prune my SAC back in April to somewhere between 18-30 inches high. I don't cut her back earlier because it can still be pretty cold here and the ground is too mucky. I don't cut her back any lower simply because it leaves some of her still on her support and I don't have to do anything to get her going. When I cut her back there is sometimes some substantial growth on her already. Believe me it is not a problem cutting here back. If she got any bigger she would topple the fence line. I also chop the heck out of her whenever I want space (or more sunlight) for something else. SAC does not care! Since your zone 4 has a shorter season than even me, the only thing you need to worry about is frost in the fall. Picture was take 9/19/06. When are you likely to get your first hard frost this fall?