Gardening: A beginner’s guide to pruning clematis

Clematis montana ‘Rubens’. Picture: Alamy/PA

They are among the most beautiful of climbing plants, providing a wealth of colour up trellises, scrambling through shrubs to offer extra blooms and bringing containers to life.

With good choices and sensible pruning, you can enjoy clematis all year round — but when it comes to pruning, you need to know your groups.