My first bloom this spring was pathetic! If I remember right I only had two or at the most three sporadic very small blooms. I discovered this year that this is a Type 2 and I've been cutting it to the ground every spring. Also learned this year that when you do that it may not bloom at all or only with small flowers. I guess what I've been doing is called a hard prune. Not doing that any more! In years past when I neglected it all together I used to have so many blooms covering these vines you couldn't even see the leaves.
So, I babied it and fertilized it well, both soil and foliar, this summer. All of a sudden I started getting now growth on the plants and they started setting buds! This morning I had six big blooms on the plants with at least half a dozen buds coming on!
Let me show you some pics. The first picture is from its heyday back in 2009:
So to finally get six big blooms again makes me happy! I learned this year that Clematis are heavy feeders! If you want good blooms, feed them! And whatever you do, DON'T cut them down to the ground!
This year's bloom late in the season:
