Clematis and Wisteria pruning - complete novice

I know very little about gardening. I have a lovely arch (6' high) in my tiny new garden (5' wide by about 20') . Two plants either side, planted last year (June) have grown up to meet at the top in profusion. They are Clematis montana and Wisteria sinensis alba

I want to know what I need to do with them regarding pruning, when (of if) and how, so that it keep on doing the job it's done so well this year. And anything else that I need to do to keep my arch going. Thank you

 

Hello medindexer, welcome to GC
You're going to need to prune with two rampant climbers on one arch! From now on, if you prune the clematis just after it's flowered, you'll get the maximum amount of flowers on the shoots that it makes through the summer. The main task with a clematis is to tie in the shoots where you want them and perhaps thin out quite a few so it doesn't become an unruly tangle.
With a wisteria, the first few years are dedicated to forming the framework, so you need to decide how many main branches you're going to keep. Just one with short side branches bearing flowers, or one main stem on each upright of the arch? Whichever, tie in the stem(s) you want to keep and cut all the wispy stems back to within two leaves. You need to do this at least twice a year...some do January/June, some February/July. The shortened stubs produce flower buds but it can take a while! Good luck!

 

Thank you niosette47. As I said, I'm a beginner. I have no idea what `tie in' means. I also have no idea where to prune in relation to leaf or bud position (is that important).
More fundamentally, I still have no idea where to cut the whole thing back to. With the Clematis, I can see at ground, there are 2 woodymain branches *maybe 3/4 cm thick- they becom 4 woody branches and about half way up begins non-wood growth with profusions of branches.
The Wisteria is not that different.
At the moment, the chaotic profusion is rather nice and I'm amazed how much it has grown this season. I attach a photo showing full growth (sorry about image quality). So, I guess what I'm asking is, how much do I prune back to, what should be left to go through winter and to ensure, that as early as possible next year it leafs to form the arch.
Remember - I'm a real dummy when it comes to outdoor plants (I used to describe my gardening skills when I shared a garden with my ex as `mow, slash and burn' where I had enormous magnificent hedges of beech and holly, and I simply cut them back every year hedge-trimming machinery so that the performed their function. My ex did all the creative stuff.

 

Thanks for advice to one and all

 

Hi and to GC @medindexer your garden looks a really tranquil and pretty spot to sit ....you are obviously more capable than your giving yourself credit for .....but then humility and Mother Nature go hand in hand as you'll no doubt discover
Good advice from the other GC members here ....so no need to add my tuppence worth other than to maybe consider adding some more trellis alongside on the fence adjacent to the Arch ...as its been mentioned the two climbers are rather rampant so you might find them running away and you tieing yourself in knots to keep up with them ....the trellis will allow and bit more freedom for them to show themselves off
Or you could even just use wire as the video shows


Happy gardening

 

Hello again Tying in....cut lengths about 6"/15cm of garden twine or twisty wire, tie them/twist them tightly round the arch upright, at intervals, then knot loosely round stem (s) you need to contain. I simply wouldn't prune the clematis now...you'd be cutting off the stems that will flower next Spring. Wisteria...follow the woody stem up from the base and cut all the green shoots coming off it to leave 3"-4" or two leaves, whichever comes first. At the top, tie in the strongest 2 stems against the arch. (When you only leave one, it tends to die off, so the second one is insurance HTH

 

Wanted to thank you (and others). Much appeciated

 

there is a little book on the market published by the R H S, called easy pruning,simple steps to success, it covers every thing you are ever lickly want to prun. and you will be surprised just how easy the job is , it will also tell you when,it tells you in words and picturs.a novis will work through the job with confedence.

 

Thank you for that. I'll look it up