Chalk Hill used to recommend on their website to plant clematis in the fall so that they had 6 weeks of time prior to the first hard frost to allow themselves to get established. If the plants' root systems are small, you might want to pot them up and grow them out prior to planting directly in the garden.

I'm surprised that they sent yours so late. Mine arrived the day after Labor Day.

Some had enough roots in the pots to not even question their ability to survive being directly planted. A few had roots that were more iffy. I dumped these in gallon pots using the same porttng mix they were shipped in. Now most of these have roots coming out of the bottom of the pot and I feel OK about putting them right into the ground. But there are still a few that really haven't developed that much more root, so these will be planted in their pots, with a topping of my usual clem mix.

I doubt that you would have a month left to make these decisions though, so unless you are at the Southernmost part of zone 5, I would suggest that you just pot them up to a gallon size pot, plant the pot, and check again in the Spring. That is if the roots are not already filling the container they came in.

Marie

I'm surprised that they sent yours so late. Mine arrived the day after Labor Day.

Some had enough roots in the pots to not even question their ability to survive being directly planted. A few had roots that were more iffy. I dumped these in gallon pots using the same porttng mix they were shipped in. Now most of these have roots coming out of the bottom of the pot and I feel OK about putting them right into the ground. But there are still a few that really haven't developed that much more root, so these will be planted in their pots, with a topping of my usual clem mix.

I doubt that you would have a month left to make these decisions though, so unless you are at the Southernmost part of zone 5, I would suggest that you just pot them up to a gallon size pot, plant the pot, and check again in the Spring. That is if the roots are not already filling the container they came in.

Marie

Here is the shipping schedule that used to appear on the Chalk Hill website. Not sure where bonitamariposa lives, but here in NC, October was the typical shipping time.

OUR SHIPPING SCHEDULES
=======================
PLANT items: Your order will be shipped when planting conditions are optimal.

SHIPPING TIMES:
1. AZ, CA, FL, OR, WA: March through June and September through Mid-November.
2. AL, GA, LA, MS, SC, TX, AR, KY, NC, OK, NM, TN, VA: April through June and Mid-Sept. through October.
3. CT, DC, MA, MD, NJ, RI, WV: Mid-April through June and Mid-September through
October.
4. IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, NE, NY, NV, OH, PA, UT: Mid- April through June and
Mid-September through October.
5. CO, ID, ME, MN, MT, ND, NH, SD, VT, WI, WY: May through June and Late-Aug. through September.
6. AK: May

*Shipping periods may change depending on weather in your area.