clematis pruning, how and when?

i would gladly give you some advice on pruning the clematis - but it would help to know what variety it is as there are slightly different rules to pruning for these climbers.

There are three distinct groups of clematis for pruning purposes. Group 1 consists of those that flower early in the year, group 2 consists of the early large-flowering hybrids which flower in early summer, group 3 consists of those which flower from mid-summer onwards.

Group 1
These clematis flower on stems which grew the previous year. This group are only lightly pruned in order to keep them within bounds and removing any damaged stems.

Group 2
This group consists of all the early large-flowering hybrids. They flower in early summer on stems which grew the previous year. Light pruning will keep them in bounds and stimulate new growth.

Group 3
This group produces flowers from stems produced in the same season and consists of all those that flower mid to late season. This group is relatively simple to prune - simply cut back the main stems in late winter to 25cm (10in) from ground level.

Hope this helps...it's not as complicated as it sounds. You just need to know which group they are in.