Clematis: Group 1 pruning?, 2 by JHarp

JHarp wrote:
Found and installed a resizing utility, so here goes. The first picture was taken just a few days ago. The 2nd and 3rd were taken 05/20/13. The purple hasn't bloomed yet but I'm still watching.

We had an unusually long spell of at or below zero F this year. I lost several plants to winterkill, a 30+ year old Hydrangea among them. I wonder if some varieties of Clematis are affected by unusual and protracted cold?

Jim