Who says you can’t enjoy some summer flowers in October. Every year many of my clematis experience what I believe is clematis wilt. The bottom leaves turn brown and drop, leaving a poor looking climber in the garden. A Polish Spirit clematis that climbs a beautiful globe trellis just outside our bedroom patio does this every summer. Every year I take care of this by cutting the plant back after flowering. The clematis grows back each year, providing nice green foliage until fall. This year I cut the my Polish Spirit back to the ground a little earlier than normal. Out came the pruners just as the last flowers were fading, in early August. Well, combine that with a mild fall this year and I have actually enjoyed a second flush of flowers. So far the flowers have survived two mild frosts, here’s hoping our mild weather continues! I might try cutting back some other clematis early next year to see if I can get the same result.