OMG!! Is this a real question or did you just post that photo for effect?? That is adorable! Did you know that Fine Gardening magazine has a pets in the garden photo contest going on? You could win with this hands down.

Sorry...I got a little carried away with that too cute photo :-) Except for some very obvious selections, it's not always that easy to ID a hybrid clematis. Yours looks to be a large flowered hybrid, the majority of which are included in pruning group 2. If it begins to flower in May or June, that would confirm it. Pruning methods for group 2 usually suggest a light pruning of the top third of the vine and most growers tend to do this in late winter/early spring or about the same time you would prune your roses (or when the forsythia blooms).

I'm not sure that just pruning will help increase the bloom capacity of your vine. It could help, but I'd be much more concerned about the base of the plant. Fuzzy little puppies aside, it looks like the lawn is growing right up to the stem. Turf grasses are very aggressive plants and have the ability to pull a lot of nutrients and moisture from the soil. Plus, if you fertilize your lawn, the nitrogen in the lawn fertilizer will discourage a lot of flowering.

I'd cut out the sod for around 18" from the base of the vine, being careful not to disturb the clematis roots. Top off with soil or compost if necessary. Clems have a reputation for being heavy feeders, so many growers will fertilize after pruning with a rose or tomato fertilizer. Some go with just the compost routine. And they need to keep a moist root run, so make sure to water deeply during dry periods.

A little bit of pruning and some TLC with regards to the soil immediately surrounding the vine should help to increase the flower power. The vine looks very healthy and happy otherwise.

I agree with GG on this one. Identification of a pink clematis that has no real stand out distinguishing characteristics is going to be difficult. However seeing how low on the stems the plant is flowering I would guess it is a type II large flowering hybrid.

All pruning classes of clematis benefit from being pruned back to within a few inches of the ground the first and second year they are planted, but continuing to do so is not necessarily going to make them more floriferous. I think the fact that there is grass growing right up to the plant is generally not a good thing since the grass competes with the plant for moisture and nutrients. I too would remove the grass from around the plant, mulch it well with a good organic mulch, and feed it with a good nutrient rich fertilizer (rose food, tomato food, composted mushroom or cow manure) as it starts to break dormancy this spring.

There also appears that there might be another vine intertwined growing with the clematis if you look at the puppy on the right in the picture right near its eye. I can see several serrated edged leaves that are definitely not clematis leaves. That plant whatever it is can also be drawing moisture and nutrients from the clematis plant.

Yah um, I had to photograph the pups one day and I always choose flower backgrounds and so when I needed to post this question the only photo I could show of its flowers was these.

Here is what you dont see. The bush is planted behind the chain link fence and it is drooped over the fence, coming down in front of the fence. That's how they were when we moved in. That's how I left them grow every year. So those blooms occur right up to the ends of the vines. In fact the bush used to be covered with the blooms starting early summer and going all season nonstop. I just cant get it to bloom heavily anymore.

I'll try cutting it back this month and putting some tomato fertilizer in the roots. I'll remove the lawn growth around the roots too. In response to gardengal48 above, we do not fertilize our lawn.

Thanks for all the info.