Clematis Montana

[SpruceTree]

I live my clematis Montana. It is about to flower and will look fab.
Trouble is it's quite old now and there is so much of it, it is pulling the fence over with its weight.
If I hack it right back after it has flowered, will it survive?

If I hack it right back after it has flowered, will it survive? Yes. You may lose a year's flowers. If you're worried, you could take out 25% right to the base and repeat for the next 3 years.

That sounds an excellent idea. Many thanks.

It is a good idea to prune one third every year, so that you get constant flowers. Try to start right at the base in the middle to give some light.
Then gradually work outwards so that you have a V shape. If you prune the very oldest wood, you should still get flowers next year.

Montana is a type 1 clematis so pruning after flowering is correct. Should mean you get plenty of flowers next year as it will grow plenty after pruning. It can be a bit of a triffid!

Our clematis has turned into a 3 feet bunch of that’s so we pruned it over the weekend. When I say “pruned” I mean we butchered it down to the bare minimum. We may get flowers this year or not. I don’t care if we don’t because the weight of all that dead wood was detrimental to the side of the house. Make your fence your priority

That’s should read thatch.