I got one of the same bags at HD last week, but since they had just came in I had to pay full price, Mine do have better looking roots and a little light green stem, I am hoping the one with the thicker stem is the Candida, as I already have 2 Jacks.
I put them both in a pot with stones in the bottom for drainage, I have killed most of these bare root babies before by overwatering leading to root rot.
The most important thing is to start good root growth going. So I used a mix of leaf mold (compost would work too), bone meal, slow release rose fertilizer, dried cow manure, some potting soil from my favorite nursery here that was salvaged when I repotted a couple of my new purchases, and regular garden soil. The I soaked the pot well and set it where it would drain the excess water. For the next watering I will use liguid root stimulator, diluted according to label directions.If I don't see any new growth in a month or so I will check to see how the roots are doing. There may be new stems that just haven't made it to the surface yet at best, or root rot at worst.I'm glad that HD has a guarantee on their plants, and I always keep my plant receipts.

I don't think the mirace grow potting soil is the best medium for them. I think that there may be too much peat in the mix which would retain too much dampness, and the fertilizer in it is more of a general purpose kind with too much nitrogen. Rose or tomato fertilizer is better for clems.

I have bought some clems from a nursery that uses pro-mix to pot their bare root plugs and have learned to repot them immediately if not sooner, because I have killed too many of their clems by overwatering ones that were left in their pots. They also used some sort of plastic plug over the main drainage hole in the bottom of the slightly less than gallon pot.

In summary, I recommend you go out and buy $50 worth of supplies to keep your $.75 worth of clems alive. Just kidding, but it will cost more than what you paid for the plants, but can be used on any other clems you have, Or if these are your first and are successfully grown, you may be hooked into buying more. Many more.

Marie

I have used Miracle Gro planting mix with fertilizer and moisture holding granules for potting up smaller clematis and have never had any issue with doing so.

I would never recommend anyone first buying clematis that are in plastic bags with either dry sphagnum moss or wood shavings or anything similar surrounding the plants. These bareroot plants could have been sitting on the shelf for god knows how long and could very well be beyond dormant and dead. I know the temptation is to buy these plants since they are so cheap, but if you have a bad experience with these, you might be convinced to never attempt to grow clematis again. This type of experience tends to perpetuate the idea that clematis are difficult plants to grow. Buy decent sized plants if you are just starting out with clematis and your experience is more likely to be pleasant than not. After gaining experience with them, experiment with dormant or bareroot clematis. Just my opinion!

Miguel, I stand corrected about the miracle grow mix. You know more about clems than I ever will.

I guess I was thinking about the miracle grow all purpose fertilizer when I saw MG. I did buy a container of MG water soluble rose fert, but haven't tried it yet. I prefer the granuals for repotting or planting, but think a liquid may be better for after-blooming feeding. And now mine are a long way from blooming, except for some newly bought ones and a few of the atragenes.

I have been putting a little of the Schultz moisture retaining potting soil into my transplants. It was left over from last year's experiment with growing lettuce in hanging baskets to keep the slugs away from it.

Marie

Why would you want to buy a dead plant for a quarter?? Man alive pay the price and buy something that stands a chance. Even at 25 cents you got taken. IMHO Gianty.

Maybe it is a gambling instinct. Clem roots have been known to revive after appearing dead for a year, as long as the roots have not rotten, which happens to me too often. I bought some cheap end of season bargains a few years back, and a few made it thru the Winter to grow the next year.

And some half priced 4 inch potted ones came back beatifuly, almost as good as the ones I had bought that size in the Spring. But I did buy the healthiest looking ones of the lot.

But I wouldn't take those kind of chances unless I had some experience with full grown clems. Now I would scarf up a few of the bargains if I could find them.

Whenever I see the bagged & boxed ones, whether on sale of not, I always try to see if there is any green showing to indicate life. It is not my preferred way of buying, but sometimes it is all that is available.

Marie

Marie, your experience with Miracle Gro planting soil is valid. The thing to remember is that if something holds moisture better you will have to water less. Many people simply drown plants, clematis included, in pots by watering when it is not necessary. Pushing a finger into the soil an inch or two is the best way to tell if something needs watering. If you use the type of soil with water retaining granules, you will have to water even less so perhaps your experience with the soil has more to do with that then the specific brand of potting soil you were using.

I looked at the bag while I was potting and it was MG, not Schultz. I think I have an old empty bag of S in the shed. Think I was saving it to put compost in as it has a nice ziplock closure, like MG. Maybe I had problems with that. The lettuce did fairly well with the MG mixed into the hanging basket with garden soil & compost.

Last night I made an emergency run to HD to get granular tomato or rose fertilizer as I ran out before finishing the feeding of newly emerging shoots after cutting off the deadwood, and repotting a few. I did repot a few yesterday but put a bit of milorganite in the pots, to be topped off with r/t when I got it,

So I finally bought a bag of the real rosetone. They had a sale on Scotts flower & veggie slow release, with a picture of a tomato on the bag. It is 10-10-10. Would this be ok for a feeding after flowering on ones that I don't think will rebloom? Most of my clems were new last year, so many did not bloom until the Fall, Some were originally tiny 4 inchers, some mature bare roots, some 1 gallon year olds, & some older 2 or 3 gallon size, at least 2 years old. Hope to get a better idea this year of what to expect.

Marie

Marie, about the only two times of the year that I don't think fertilizing is called for is during blooming and as the season is winding down and winter is approaching. After blooming would be a perfect time to fertilize provided in your zone the clematis isn't blooming going into the latter part of the year when it should be going dormant.

right Miquel

I didn't put any fertilizer into the ones I got from the garden crossings sale in October (?, not sure, but later than I would have planted if it wasn't such a good sale) or the ones that graduated from one gallon to two or the ones big enough to go into the ground without pots or in tubs.

My question is more about the Scott's 10-10-10.

Marie

10-10-10 is considered a balanced fertilizer since all the ingredients are present at the same level. I have used just about everything to fertilize clematis and haven't found anything that is not appropriate as long as the nitrogen content is not a lot higher than the phosphorus or the potash.