im pretty good with clematis vines, so I get the whole, "three types of pruning" techniques they fall into, but im wondering... we have a "pink champagne" plant that's going on 5 years old. it sits on our front patio in a cedar box that measures 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. its doing great and we've never pruned it, hence its pretty darn thick in some spots. me and my girl are having a tough time deciding exactly where to thin it out in order to "shape" it best and to promote this years new growth. given that next years flowers will only show up on this years growth, is it wise to thin out as much of the old wood as possible before it starts putting on new growth in the coming weeks and months? in other words, why keep old wood around if it wont produce any flowers next year? part two of my question: most of this seasons flowers seemed to be at the top of the plant. is there a technique to ensure flowers over the entire vine?

Pruning will give you more flowers over the entire plant.

It's best to prune after it's done flowering. Some people prune by half, others by a third: do what you feel is best. I prune to the ground in very early spring and have many blooms but the plant doesn't get tall, as yours does. It would overpower the little fence it's on if I allowed it to get huge.

You could prune half by half, and the remainder could be pruned more harshly or not as much.

Pink champagne only blooms of previous years growth. How do you get flowers if you're cutting it to the ground every year?

You'll see mine when it blooms later this month!

I cut mine to the ground each year too and it blooms from top to bottom. Are you getting buds Pirl?

Yes! Now we're finally getting some rain but I'll take photos later. The anticipation level is very high here!

This photo of emerging growth was taken right after I cut it back to the ground, May 2, 2015. Now it's about 3' tall!