Need to plant something in front of and beside my Comtesse de Bouchard clematis. The clematis is planted at corner of garage, up against the brick facing. The area is about 5 ft.long and about 18 inches deep. Clematis like something planted at their feet to shade their roots. There is about a 3 ft. blank space of brick facing that needs something there, no taller than 2 1/2-3 ft. Preferrable a perennial that will reseed and go with the clematis color. That area would be getting the afternoon sun. I'm thinking of maybe a mass planting of coneflowers, Becky Daisy, lupine, bee balm, maybe peach leaf campanula, even old black eye susans or something similar that would reseed and cover that space. Possibly Profusion series of zinnias? Zinnias are an annual though.

Yes prune back to about a foot tall above a leaf axil..fertilize and replace your trellis...water well...Jeanne

ok, you might sacrifice any or all bloom if you prune back heavily now. But chances are that you will not do any real damage to the plants by cutting back. Try cutting back to above a node to encourage lower branching. Though if you don't prune above a node, its very likely that the roots will just send up more shoots. Give thought to on what you will be having them grow (a trellis, for example) so that you will not face having them regrow into messes again before the end of the year. Alternately, you could try cutting back most stems of each, but leave one long stem to produce some blooms so you know what you're dealing with in the future. (as different clematis have different pruning habits and growth habits) by the way (btw) welcome to the clematis forum....be warned a little time here and you will look back and remember when you only had those 4 you inherited with the house. ~Chills

It is not a requirement but most clematis growers recommend it. You will have a tidier, more manageable plant that often will produce more flowers than one left unpruned. It helps a lot to know what kind of clematis you have to determine when and how much to prune. If you don't know, paying close attention to bloom time can help. Very early blooming clematis (before May) generally require minimal pruning unless you want to control size. They bloom on old wood (growth produced the previous season or before), so if pruning is desired, they should be pruned as soon after the bloom cycle as possible so as not to affect flowering the following spring. Mid season clematis - those that bloom in May and June (and sometimes into July) tend to bloom on old wood and sometimes as well later on newer growth. These are typically pruned lightly - about a third - in early spring, around the same time you prune roses in your area. Often, many growers will prune again lightly after the first bloom to encourage a later rebloom on those that flower on new growth as well. Late season clematis (July - September) are best approached with a harder pruning. These bloom on new growth and if left unpruned, can produce long, leggy vines with flowering clustered only on the top of the vine. It sounds more complicated than it is :-) The vast majority of vines fit into the second category - the large flowered hybrids - so that should simplify things. And pruning instructions are only guidelines, not requirements. If the vines are newly planted, any clematis regardless of type benefits from hard pruning down to the third set of buds at the end of its first season (late winter/early spring). This encourages the development of a strong root system and the generation of multiple stems from the root crown and often, increased resistance to wilt. A good many growers will continue this practice in the second and sometimes the third season as well. It is hard to hurt an established clematis by pruning regardless of type, so if your vines are large, messy or unwieldy, pruning at any time can provide a necessary rejuvenation. Pruning at the wrong time or harder than typical for that type of vine will only impact flowering time and usually only for a single season.