Clematis advice

[Accidental goat mom]

I have two beautiful clematis growing in my back flower bed. Neither is flowering any more. The problem is my darn baby goat is an escape artist and is obsessed with my clematis. If I cut them back now...we will get frost within a month since this is Wisconsin...will it kill the Clematis? The clematis is toxic to goats...ugh.

 

[Nyboy]

@thistlebloom very knowledgeable about clematis. I love them but they always die on me.

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks @Nyboy ,but even though they are my favorites I'm far from expert. I think @aftermidnight is the real expert here.

@Accidental goat mom , I think I would make a wire barrier/fence around the clematis, although if that's not possible cutting it down now will probably do it no harm since we're pretty close to fall now.
If it's a well established plant, several years old with a good root system
you should have no problem with cutting it back and having it return next spring.

I recommend a hot wire for your goat pen to teach your young kid to respect the fence. Goats can be pushy about their enclosures and they are smart enough to find the weak spots. A hot wire will get their attention and keep them from developing bad habits.

 

[aftermidnight]

Thanks Thistle but I'm no expert, my knowledge comes from trial and error, mostly error. If I make a mistake mum's the word .
As to cutting clematis back, if it's got a good root system you could cut it back now but if it's one that blooms on old wood like the ones in Group 2 you would be sacrificing next years blooms, our doberman got in a snit one year and ripped one of my mature group 2 clemies off at ground level right around this time of year, I thought it was a goner but it came back in the spring better than ever but it took a couple of years before we saw any blooms.
If it blooms on new wood like the ones in Group 3 it can be cut down fall or spring as they bloom on new wood, I usually do these in the spring.
As a rule the Group 1 clemies need little pruning unless getting to be a tangled mess or need to be contained, I have cut these to the ground on occasion, takes a year or two to recover, they bloom on old wood. The Montanas are rampant growers, here's a picture of a cutting of Montana wisonii I gave my neighbor. He planted it on his shed, it jumped the fence and climbed through our yellow cedar tree, when in bloom it has many scratching their heads as this cedar is by our back fence, the other side of the fence, a 4 lane highway.

If you don't know which group your clemie is in I would follow Thistle's suggestion and protect it. If you know the variety you can look up to see which group it's in and then decide how you want to prune it in the future.

Annette

 

[thistlebloom]

Ha! A blooming cedar tree!

 

[Accidental goat mom]

Thanks Thistle but I'm no expert, my knowledge comes from trial and error, mostly error. If I make a mistake mum's the word .
As to cutting clematis back, if it's got a good root system you could cut it back now but if it's one that blooms on old wood like the ones in Group 2 you would be sacrificing next years blooms, our doberman got in a snit one year and ripped one of my mature group 2 clemies off at ground level right around this time of year, I thought it was a goner but it came back in the spring better than ever but it took a couple of years before we saw any blooms.
If it blooms on new wood like the ones in Group 3 it can be cut down fall or spring as they bloom on new wood, I usually do these in the spring.
As a rule the Group 1 clemies need little pruning unless getting to be a tangled mess or need to be contained, I have cut these to the ground on occasion, takes a year or two to recover, they bloom on old wood. The Montanas are rampant growers, here's a picture of a cutting of Montana wisonii I gave my neighbor. He planted it on his shed, it jumped the fence and climbed through our yellow cedar tree, when in bloom it has many scratching their heads as this cedar is by our back fence, the other side of the fence, a 4 lane highway.
View attachment 21747

If you don't know which group your clemie is in I would follow Thistle's suggestion and protect it. If you know the variety you can look up to see which group it's in and then decide how you want to prune it in the future.

Annette

Thanks for all the info. It does bloom on new growth I do know that. Since it is toxic to naughty goat I think I will cut it. I know it is group 2 or 3...if i have to wait a year or two for it to bloom again i can live with that...better than a dead goat.