Given that I am REALLY behind on pruning/chopping stuff...

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

.. but that all the below are VERY overgrown/big, and that I am finally about to have a bit more time to deal with them - please can you help me work out which of the below it is still a good idea to chop back now, and which (if any) I should really try not to touch till next year now?

• Forsythia (I think this should ideally have been done right after it flowered? but didn't get a chance then!)
• Philadelphus (ditto!)
• Clematis montana (I think) - Spring flowering, pink
• Various other clematises I've not fully identified yet, but mainly early-Summer flowering (light purple or dark purple big flowers, also one with white sort of cup-shaped flowers) - some of these are also very intermingled so it will be pretty hard to tell what I'm chopping anyway
• Lilac
• Buddleia
• Garrya
• Hebe (very big bush type)

Also one more question if I may, what do you think is the best way to get rid of an enormous snowberry, I don't think it'll be possible to dig it out (not just with a spade anyway, and no room to do it any other way) so am wondering about chopping down plus some way of stopping it growing back, or any other good ideas?

Thank you!

I subscribe to the "cut it back when you have a chance, and if it survives your neglect, it fits in well"

However, I'd be really interested in the hebe question, and also Ceanothus. Both are looking very brown and ill compared to their neighbours, so I need to do something, but not sure what?

I know one thing about ceanothus, if you cut it too drastically (esp. into old wood) it can kill it. Thanks DH!

Hebes apparently also don't like to be cut back too drastically, and won't flower if you cut too much at once, but if they really need it you can cut 1/3 at a time right back (so over 3 years it all gets trimmed). So we've been doing that but I wasn't sure what to do now I've probably missed the best time!

If your buddleia is anything like mine it has plans for world domination... Go at it hard.

I pruned my forsythia after flowering but it's grown so much since that I've just had a second go to remove unwanted shoots. It depends how much it's annoying you, I guess

Forsythia and Philadelphus should have been cut back after flowering. If you cut them now you will run the risk of a) frost damage to new growth and b) no flowers next spring. You can remove obviously old or congested branches, there should be some new ones there which will give you flowers..

Clematis montana - doesn't need much more than a trim over, which you can do now, but no drastic pruning.

Various other clematises I've not fully identified yet, but mainly early-Summer flowering - you can cut these back to a foot high now.

Lilac and Buddleia - you can leave and it will flower in the spring, cut it back then if you want to.

Garrya - hard as nails so cut back as much as you want - I say this because I don't rate its flowers much!

Hebe - you can give it a light trim now, then wait til it has flowered and give it another trim.

If it flowers in spring that means it is flowering on the previous year's growth so cut it back after flowering and it will have the summer to grow plenty to flower on for next year. So if you prune a spring flowering shrub now you won't get many flowers next spring as you will have taken away the flowering shoots.

If it flowers later summer the general rule is to prune it in Feb/March as it will be flowering on that years growth. Although I think the main reason for leaving it till then is to protect from frost damage, if you are in a warm area that's less of a risk.

Hm. Maybe the way to go then for the forsythia and philadelphus is to cut back some of the oldest/biggest bits so it is not TOO huge, but leave a fair amount uncut so we still get some flowers and then do the rest after that. (They haven't had a proper chop for ages and are massive so I don't really want to leave them completely untouched again!).

Good to know I can still chop most of the clematises, they really need some work as it's like clematis spaghetti out there!

I think I might have to be fairly drastic on the montanas too though, one of them has sprawled right over the porch roof and is threatening to pull down a telephone wire, and the other one has come right over the neighbours' fence, launched itself from there onto a small tree, completely covered that and is now trying to coat the (extremely tall) eucalyptus too!

Definitely tackle your montanas in that case.
You will still get flowers in the spring, cut back as much as you need.

Argh I have given the clematis at the front a good chop back - not ridiculously drastic, it still goes right up to level with the porch roof (and admittedly looks a bit scruffy at the top with a lot of the woody stuff showing now, but I didn't dare go further...) but I chopped/pulled off everything that was growing over the porch roof and up the wall/onto the wires, and the other side I cleared it off the trellis below our window. There were layers upon layers on the porch roof, so it really needed it and the gutters were also full of crud and the wires and trellis being pulled away from the walls!

Only problem, DH is now furious because he says it looks horrible and won't believe me that it will grow back really quickly . He says it was the best thing about the house and I have "ruined" it! I have told him t'internet says it is OK and will come back, but he is still in a huff. He started the chopping himself but was basically just tickling the edges, no way that was going to stop the wire being tangled (it was even growing onto the roof!) so I took over and am now officially in the doghouse.... Hopefully in Spring he will forgive me?

Oh, can I add one or two?

Ceonathus - could I prune it slightly now, and if so, how much?
Pyracantha?

The montana will be absolutely fine I am sure. I thought I had lost mine one particularly harsh winter (-17 and deep snow for 3 weeks kind of harsh)- looked totally dead so I cut it all away - it was quite a mature plant as well. Obviously there were no flowers that Spring but by the end of summer it was pretty much covering the fence again.

Buddleia should normally be pruned very hard in early Spring. No reason at all why you couldn't cut it partly back now (some books recommend this before winter anyway) - then prune as hard as you like in Spring.

Echo what was said above re spring flowering plants. They usually flower on the previous summer's new growth, so cutting back too much in autumn can result in few or no flowers. OTOH if it really has outgrown its space then I'd argue that in the long run it's worth it to get it under control.