Help!! I Need Clematis Advice!

I need help!! Lats last fall my Clematis' trellis fell down. It has been laying in a flower bed all winter, and now the Clematis is starting to get leaves. I need to cut it off the trellis to try to put it back up. Should I just cut the Clematis down to a few feet, or try to salvage as much as possible? If I do cut it back a bit, can I root the cuttings? I'm not sure which one this is. The stem is very woody. I've had it for over 10 years, I know it was a named variety I bought, but don't remember which. Maybe someone will recognize it from the picture (last year it had 3 or 4 mutant flowers, that was the only picture I could find!).
Debbie

This looks like one I have on a trellis by one of my sheds. I cut it back every year to knee high. Every year it blooms like crazy. Even if yours is different, cutting it back won't hurt it. It might set it back a year for bloom, but I doubt it. I have a Nellie Moser that isn't supposed to be cut back, but I do it anyway and she always blooms nicely for me.

Good luck......by the way, you will probably do more damage trying to untangle it from the trellis than you would by just cutting it back.

I agree with Brugie. I tried to move one once without cutting it back and almost killed it. Every time a stem is bent to the point where it breaks the outer covering, it wilts and dies anyway, so might as well make it easy on yourself.

Thanks for your help.
Debbie

momcat...looks like a Viticella ?????? I'll keep in touch! Elaine

Great color! I hope it will do well for you. Good luck.

Wondering if one can root cuttings from the cut back part....does it have to be woody or can it be fresh growth?

My neighbor has a nice red one that I would like to root....should I use new growth cutting or hard wood from last year's growth?