Us too. Not a problem in that they will shoot from even the thickest oldest stems. Hardest thing is getting rid of the pruned bits. They won't shred and they won't rot. You may lose flowers this year, but that cannot be helped.

Agree with Owdboggy. Cut it as far back as you need to; the new growth will have covered your fence again by the end of the summer.

Agreed, dont be afraid to hard prune it, they respond well, are you able to prop the fence up to enjoy the flowers and then prune, just a word of caution here from past expierience, hard pruned one a few years back and was killed off due to some severe late frosts, as a rule established montana always come back with vigour.

I would just add that you might want to put an up turned bin over the plant while they repair the fence so that it is not too trampled on.

Couldn't agree more. I got cross with hubs 18 months ago for trying to kill my montana. He chopped it down to ground level and it's almost as big as it ever was. Fortunately the council take away the prunings in the "grey" bins (what used to be green).