Pruning a Nelly Moser

Hi Robert, 

Nelly Moser is a Group 2 clematis.  Having just checked on a couple of specialist clematis web sites the consensus seems to be:  tidy it up in late winter/early Spring before growth begins by removing dead or weak stems and cutting the remaining ones to a strong pair of buds.

It’s also recommended that you vary or stagger the height of pruning - so prune some stems to c. 100cms and a few hard back to 30-60cms to encourage fresh growth from lower down.  If you want to see a diagram try this (under Pruning Group 2):

http://www.raymondevisonclematis.com/main/guidesPruning-expert.asp

I think though, if the plant is that unruly, you would do it no harm by tidying it up to an extent now – it will just mean you may not get that 2^nd flush of flowers at the end of summer/beginning of autumn.  I probably wouldn’t cut the whole plant back at once unless it’s a real problem and you want to take drastic action!