Kimcoco, what are the names of the clematis that you have already planted? If they are type IIIs, they get pruned every year sometime during the winter (I do most of my type III cut backs in December-mine are already done for this coming year). Type IIs typically should be cut back the first if not the second year they are in the ground just so that they can get a good root system established. As for fertilizing, normally you do it initially in the early spring once the buds start swelling. How frequently you do it and with what is really up to you. Some people use compost and/or compost tea, alfalfa pellets, grass clippings, tomato and/or rose food, purchased organic or synthetic granular time released fertilizers, soluble fertilizers such as Miracle Grow, etc. As you can see, there is a wide assortment of fertilizers you can use for clematis and if you ask 10 different people what they might use, you could get 10 different answers. As to how frequently to do it is going to depend on which fertilizers you use, how fertile your soil naturally is, and why you might want to fertilize them. I will typically cut my type IIIs and type IIs back by anywhere from 1/3 to 2/3 after their initial bloom period to get another flush later in the season. When I cut them back, I refertilize them with whatever I am using or have on hand. Organic fertilizers tend to be slower release so you don't have to worry as much about over fertilizing when you do fertilize them using this type of fertilizer than if you used a synthetic/dissolvable type of fertilizer which is more immediately available to the plants. Some people go way overboard with fertilization of clematis as far as I am concerned and you have to judge how the plants are performing or aren't to determine how much you need. Needlessly dumping tons of fertilizers on any plant just for the sake of fertilizing is not fruitful and can lead to a lot of green vegetative growth with few blooms. As far as fertilizing when plants are blooming or coming into bud, it can be done provided you use a slower organic type of fertilizer. I have often forgotten, gotten sidetracked, or ignored fertilizing my clematis in early spring only to remember to do so when the plants were budded up or blooming and done so with compost, compost tea, mushroom compost, alfalfa pellets or some other organic fertilizer and not had it affect the bloom cycle. Hope that helps some!

Oh boy....I don't know what I was thinking. I went to buy some Austins today...and I had Boscobel and Golden Celebration in mind...but, instead, I came home with Teasing Georgia and Gertrude Jekyll. What was I thinking?? Teasing Georgia is going to be this big floppy thing. Sigh. :) Carol

Summers that DOES sound like a dream home for sure. That is going to be spectacular. You can set up a green house and have all kinds of awesome things also in there. What a lovely place that is going to be. I am super excited for you. Vapor unfortunately Kew gardens does get BS here when I don’t spray. To be fair it keeps blooming and I do not think 🤔 i has completely defoliated but not clean like Darlow’s enigma. It has few thorns and it forms a very nicely shaped bush. I will stop spraying it and see what happens and report back. (I have quit spraying certain roses to test them in order to determine if they will qualify to be added to my no spray small garden at the lake). So far spirit of freedom, Olivia, Bathsheba, Claire, Wollerton old hall, Emily, Roal Dahl and Wedgwood are clean enough to get a spot. I much as I love gardening I can barely keep up with one so the other place needs to be lower maintenance.

Hi Caroline, I think I live quite near you. I look forward to reading your posts and experiences with David Austin roses since we are pretty much in the same zone. Like you, I hope I live long enough to see all my Austins grow and thrive since I am a latecomer with my addiction for them. I have a large rose garden that finally, just this year has begun to reward us for all our very hard work. I had a thriving crop of thistle that has taken us 12 years to overcome but we won the battle. We have very heavy clay soils and have been hauling trailer loads of horse manure compost in every few weeks to help. We see wonderful results. Maybe we can meet in person one day and share our love of roses.