Last year I cut off the top of my growing Clematis. It barely bloomed. Did that chopping reduce the blooms. It is growing up and onto the roof! Thank you!

Joycesgarden said:Last year I cut off the top of my growing Clematis. It barely bloomed. Did that chopping reduce the blooms. It is growing up and onto the roof! Thank you!

Yes, that could have reduced bloom -- depending on what time of year you pruned it, and whether you pruned out all the active buds, and how you treated the plant after pruning.

What variety is it? Do you know?

Two are mixed together. Not sure of varieties. We usually prune it in late fall when it is looking ugly. Last yr I chopped off the top at about this time because I either need to train it over the roof(hubby says no to plants on the roof) or let it fall back down towards the ground. Thanks for responding

Joycesgarden said: We usually prune it in late fall when it is looking ugly. Last yr I chopped off the top at about this time because I either need to train it over the roof(hubby says no to plants on the roof) or let it fall back down towards the ground.

If it hadn't bloomed yet when you pruned it, and you pruned it this late in the season, there's a good chance that you pruned out the growing stems that were getting ready to make buds. IMHO it's best to either prune them early in the spring or immediately after a flush of blooms.

Thank you so much. I will need to prune off the top only to keep them off the roof and see what happens this year.