This group includes all the early large flowering varieties. This group flowers on both old growth and new growth. Some varieties have double flowers on the old growth only.

Group two should be pruned to maximize the number and size of the flowers. Cut out any weak or dead growth in winter and tidy up. If the plant is young, a hard winter prune to 30cm is recommended to encourage plenty of shoots, which will mean more flowers. Once the plant is well established, a lighter winter prune is sufficient. Cut back to strong buds in winter.

After flowering in spring, prune lightly to encourage another flush of flowers in summer. Prune again after the summer flush to encourage an autumn flush. Feed after each pruning.

We generally prune Group Two the same as Group Three as in the pictures below.

After each flowering, many clematis will produce seed heads. If you want another flush of flowers, then these seed heads must be removed otherwise all the plants energy will be put into producing seed. Clematis are much like roses, take away the seeds, and new flowers will follow. Leave them on and only a small number of flowers will follow.

By removing the seed heads, it is possible to get between three and four good flushes of flowers in a year. This does depend to some extent of where you live, how early in the spring growth starts and which varieties you have planted. Most varieties in group two will take between six and eight weeks to re flower after pruning.