This group (also Group/Type 2 or B, but sometimes classified as Group B2) includes ‘The President’, ‘Henryi’ and newer doubles such as ‘Josephine.’ Again, you would prune as for Group B1, above: an optional light pruning in February/March to shape or cut out … Clematis in Group 2 should be pruned lightly in late winter or early spring. Plants in this clematis pruning group should be pruned before the end of July to allow blooms for next year. If you see buds developing when pruning clematis vines, you may be pruning at the wrong time. Flowers that bloom in spring grow on old wood. A simpler option when pruning Group 2 clematis vines is to severely prune the plant back by half in alternate years. Generally, these cultivars are only pruned to shape. Without it the plants will get top-heavy and have fewer flowers. If you’re not sure which group your clematis belongs to, let it flower, take note of when it blooms and what kind of flower it produces, and prune … Some bloom on new growth and others on growth from the previous year. Clematis Pruning Groups. Annual pruning is essential. Clematis fit into three pruning categories: early flowering, late flowering and large flowering. Pruning consists of removing weak and crossing shoots then thinning down the plant to … Clematis in this group produce early season blooms on the previous season’s growth, and late season flowers on new growth. Group 1, spring bloomers: Clematis that bloom in early to mid-spring (April-May) flower on last year's wood. Another approach is to cut the whole plant back drastically every few years just before growth begins, with little or no pruning in the intervening time; in this case, you give up only the earliest blossoms in the season you prune. Blooms of this clematis developed during last year’s growing season. Prune Spring- and Summer-Blooming Clematis (Group 2) Clematis varieties in this group generally produce a heavy flush of flowers in the spring and then bloom again in smaller quantities later in the season. All the Clematis varieties below fall into Prune Group 2.