Clematis in Group 2 consist of all the early, large-flowered hybrid clematis that bloom in late spring or early summer and maybe again in late summer. Clematis in this group should be pruned lightly in late winter or early spring. Pruning consists of removing weak and crossing shoots then thinning down the plant to a structure of evenly spaced one and two year old stems. Cut each stem just above a pair of healthy buds. Plants in this group have the tendency to become bare at the base as they mature. You can under-plant with small shrubs or perennials to help conceal the bare stems. Alternatively, you can often force a flush of new growth from the base by cutting the vine back to 18 inches immediately after the flush of bloom.

An alternate method of pruning Group 2 clematis is to prune only every three or four years. In this case, the clematis should be pruned as described for Group 3 clematis. This will produce a weak first flush of flowers in the summer after pruning.