Dr. Ruppel is prunning type 2 which should have been prunned and fed about mid March here, which I didn't get accomplished..along with all the dried leaves from last summer. It didn't produce this Spring like it normally does. There are still dried leaves. How do we remove them or do we just have my pruning man cut it way back in the Fall, like a Type 3 to cut all the dead wood out?

There seems to always be a few long stems that fall down onto other plants and wrap itself around them. I've heard of layering down on the ground. Can I take and fill a large nursery pot with potting mix and pin a stem down into the soil to see if it will take and start another clematis vine. Has anybody done this before and how?

I haven't tried it myself but it should work. I would make sure there is a nice amount of compost in the pot. You can always feed a clem if they are not flowering and in this case if the leaves are dried I would cut it back. You might get a show in the fall! Epsom salt is also recommended to get a bushier vine.

It should work depending on what time of year you layer it. Just don't try and detach it and move it for two years. Use the same procedure for layering in the soil. The attached photo shows two layerings though I know it's not easy to distinguish one from the other.

Remove some of the dried leaves, one by one, but you can leave some that will gradually deteriorate and form a protective base for the clematis to help keep the roots cool and moist.

Anna is right. A drink of Epsom salts a few times a year will encourage new stems to emerge.

I pruned mine after bloom and it does well, providing blooms most of the summer.

pirl, thanks for the advise on layering clematis. I did this with Multiblue and it worked beautifully. I plan on separating it next spring. It's a nice way to get new plants to add to the garden

Annette - According to the very official rules we're supposed to remove the leaves that would be under the brick, gently scrape the stem at the node, then place the brick on top. At times we have the opportunity but perhaps not the patience or the tools to do as suggested. I enjoy doing it my own way since scraping those slender stems too often results in breaking the stem - not good!

The Duchess of Albany is equally easy and almost too successful. They are layered most easily in spring when the stems are very pliable.

Here's Multiblue today, with 3 layered stems, done based on your method. Thanks for the tip about layering during the spring. It is so true that these stems are fragile, and break so easily.

@Cem9165, picture?

Oops!

Multiblue layered

When you spot new leaves in spring you'll know they took. The leaves would appear at the same time as they do on Multi-Blue, the mother plant. Good luck!

Thanks, I'll look for the new leaves next spring. Once I separate it, I plan on planting it around my mail box.