Can I share with you what happened to this clematis?

[NeedsAMousekatool]

We've recently moved house, the garden was clearly lovely once but is a bit of a jungle. In one of the beds was a magnificent mature clematis which has clearly been growing for years and years, and should have bloomed magnificently come spring. Well it won't because on closer examination, the 'trunks' have been cut, clearly deliberately, away from the roots

[Palomb]

It'll be the neighbours who don't like it up the hedge. The chances are it'll grow back anyway :)

Are you sure it's a clematis though?

[NeedsAMousekatool]

Definitely a clematis, definitely won't grow back - it has no roots, it's just sort of dangling rootless in the air.

[Palomb]

Aren't the roots in the ground still? I've rally massacred some of my clematis before and they've always come back even if they've taken a few years to get going. There are different types of clematis I think.. 3maybe? They need to be pruned at different times. Not that you could call thins pruning :( what a horrible thing to do!

What sort of clematis was it? Was this done while you lved in the house or before you moved in?

[NeedsAMousekatool]

It was done before we moved in. The roots are in the ground but they're not attached to the rest of the plant. Imagine the roots, then the thickest part of the stem just above ground level. The primary stem has been cut so the whole plant has been detached from the root. I don't think it was the neighbours, the cut is right at the bottom so it was done by someone in the garden and it's a big thick stem so it wasn't a quick job that could be done while someone's back was turned.

[Palomb]

It might surprise you and pop it's head up in spring :)

[YeOldeTrout]

Are U pricing up Leylandii hedging even as we read, OP?

[florentina1]

We had a Clematis like this and the guys that installed the new fence did exactly the same. The then trod all around it with their big boots.

Amazingly the following Spring loads of shoots came up from ground level That was five years ago. It is not as magnificent as it once was, but it does produce flowers every year.

[LynetteScavo]

I raise you an entire tree on the verge outside my house.

It happened yesterday while we were at work. The council say "there will be a reason" but can't tell us what.

The clematis might grow back. I too out a honeysuckle once, because it never flowered so I thought I'd replace it with something else. It grew back completely within two years. It still doesn't flower, though.

[NeedsAMousekatool]

Well fingers crossed it can be fabulous again. It's just such a shame!

[Ferguson]

It looks too 'woody' for clematis to me. Could it be honeysuckle?

Anyway, if you clear ground immediately around it, it could well come up in spring.

[DingbatsFur]

Don't worry, karma will get them!
Our garden was sold to us years ago as having several hundreds of pounds worth of plants.
Cheeky people ripped them all out and replaced them with crap plants from B&Q including several gorse bushes.
Bah.

[Palomb]

I would've said honeysuckle too :)

[YeOldeTrout]

Our ancient clematis was at least that thick. Montane variety?

[NeedsAMousekatool]

Up close it doesn't look much like a honeysuckle, and my mum and granny both said clematis when they saw it, so I'm fairly happy it's a clematis.

Dingbats that's disgraceful and lynette that's shocking about the tree! The non-flowering Lazarus honeysuckle made me smile though.

[bookbook]

It looks a bit like a clematis montana - if it is, they are as tough as old boots. I dug one up , left it on the ground for a couple of weeks, DH plonked it in a hole upside down, and it still came back - it was the most beautiful thug. So fingers crossed

[funnyperson]

It must have been the neighbours. But you will have the last laugh as it will grow again

[NeedsAMousekatool]

It wasn't the neighbours, I'm sure of it. We've bought from people going through an acrimonious divorce and I am fairly certain one of them did it to the other (or to us,it was a fairly reluctant sale).

[MrsLeighHalfpenny]

I'm pretty sure that's not a clematis.

[Freeriver]

Only just found this Topic so catching up with all the posts, so interesting - I love gardening.

Hope it's OK to say I don't think that is a clematis, the branches are too stiff even for a tangled montana. I think it is a honeysuckle, and it has roots in the ground and a bit of stumpy stem so no reason why it won't send out new shoots. Sometimes does things good to be cut right down (this looks a bit drastic though).

[Footle]

But as far as I can tell from the photo, the cuts look quite old.

[NigellasGuest]

whatever it is, get rid of the "trunks" that have been cut off, and give the bottom bit a feed. I bet some little green bits will start sprouting in a month or two.

[TheGreenNinja]

When we moved into our last house, my DH pulled up some 'weeds' on a rare foray into the garden (why he thought they were carefully entwined into support wires I have no idea) which was actually a beautiful clematis. Despite this, it still regrew the following year.
I do agree it looks honeysuckle-y though. And we also have one of those that was cut right back to the ground and now is back reaching up over half the wall. As long as the roots are good, you've got a good chance it'll regrow.
Spiteful thing to do though.