I hard Prune all my clematis the first couple of years that they are in my gardens..that is to help aid in growing a stonger root system..especially the pruning group 2's which can get wilt..no matter what zone you are in they are all pruned the same..Hard pruning is hard pruning..some people say 6-10 inches up from the soil..I like to hard prune right above a viable leaf axil..usually the third one from the soil..Clematis "Sweet Autumn" is pruned about 6 inches from the soil and will usually bloom in Sept/Oct depending on the zone.
For future reference Clematis "Lasurstern" and "Fireworks" are pruning group 2's while the others are Pruning group 3's and
If you don't hard prune your pruning group 3's, since they bloom on the new vines produced during the growing season you'll see blooms higher up where all the new vines have grown...Hope this has helped...Jeanne
ps...don't forget to fertilize at the time you prune with either some rose fertilizer or tomato fertilizer

Jeanne, thank you so much for the great information. Should I prune them now? There is still a good chance of getting a bit more snow here, although the temps have been in the 50s for the last couple of days and the forecast calls for more of the same.

Prune them now - clematis don't care about snow! I pruned most of mine in February and we have had some very cold temperatures and a bunch of snow since and many are already starting to bud. Our spring is off to a very cold and late start and I wish we were looking at more temperatures in the 50's but they are hovering 10-15 degrees colder than normal for this time of year. And we have had frosts off and on for weeks, including several days of snow and freezing rain around Easter. I gave a clematis lecture at a local nursery last weekend with three inches of snow on the ground and a veritable blizzard going on while I spoke!

Gardengal is right..go ahead and prune..some people prune in December..I think that is when Miguel prunes his..they are dormant so it doesn't hurt..Being in the south I like to prune mine around Feb 14th..Valentine's day but if I miss some and see the leaf buds starting to emerge..I just go ahead and prune at my desired height above a leaf axil...Jeanne
GG...poor baby..I can't imagine living in that snow and pruning!!...

Yep I do prune in late December or early January here in NC. My motto is that if they are dormant, then pruning is best done then. I even hard pruned back some integrifolia hybrids the day after Thanksgiving last year.

I think I may have killed my clematis. I pruned in last fall and I live in Holley, New York. I am concerned because I haven't seen any new growth or signs of new growth yet. Did I kill the plant? I am a new homeowner and it was an already established clematis vine. I am not certain of the exact name of the species of clematis. Last year it was absolutely beautiful with many white blooms. Please help! Is there any hope that I did not kill the plant. Please tell me what can be done to get it to grow! Thank you so much for your time and knowledge.......Danielle

Chances of you killing it are very slim. Now I don't know what your weather is like up in New York right now where you live, but I would have to guess the ground is not very warm and until the ground and air temps are warm you aren't going to see much or any growth.

Danielle, please, you should start your own threads instead of dragging up old ones or hijacking someone else's.