What month can I start to prune everything right back for Winter time?

[roosi]

I wish to tisy up by cutting all plants back - clematis etc, I think someone said October is the soonest - is this true?

[roosi]

Tidy sorry........ :-)

[carlton23]

Hi roosi, If you type in "What month do I prune plants back"?? into google, you will find many answers to your question.

[woofgang]

Baseline is to wait until the first frost or cold snap that will send the plants into dormancy. If you cut back while the weather is still warm they are likely to shoot again, then a later frost will get the new shoots and wreck next years growth

[woofgang]

PS this is even more important with vine type plants (vitis family) as they will bleed sap if not dormant when pruned...figs do too

[Clanad]

Easy on pruning the clematis though. Be sure you know the type of your plant. Some are pruned heavily in the fall, some aren't pruned at all.... There are many sources of information, but here's one:

http://gardening.about.com/b/2009/03/03/when-do-you-prune-clematis-and-do-you-even-have-to-2.htm

Best of luck!

[roosi]

Thanks everyone, you have kinda confirmed what I thought - happy/non destructive pruning for me!!! :-)