I have a 10 year old clematis that is never been pruned because it never needed it it is in a raised bed and goes up a lamppost. I live in Ohio 6a and last winter we had a terrible cold snap after a January warming that killed many perennial plants and trees. I now have a very Twiggy base to my plant. I have read several conflicting advice comments about pruning. The most common is to prudent 12 to 18 inches from the ground this will leave no flowers this year and we hope to put the house on the market this summer obviously the gardens are a big plus so I'm just considering not pruning and then planting a medium annual or perennial around the base. Any thoughts? Thanks ahead of time
