never buy based on the flowers .. you only need one.. to insure you are getting what you want ...

with perennials.. you are buying a root mass for the future ... in most cases.. tip the plant out of the pot.. and look at those.. but its hard with a plant [near impossible] .. vine.. that is staked ...

could we have a pic of the whole.;. to gauge the over all look ...

frankly ... its near done blooming.. and going into decline.. and a little leaf damage doesnt bother me at all ...

btw.. did you repot it??? .. or is that the nursery pot.. i cant quite make out what the media is.. besides sodden ...

where are you.. how much recent rain.. how heavy is the pot??? .. do you plan on planting it ... when.. now or fall ...

ken

Here's a photo of the whole. It's in a nursery pot. In Montana, no recent rain. Sprinklers, yes! I would like to plant it as soon as possible and am curious about when the best time would be. I bought a bunch of other perennials yesterday too but we're having a major hot spell and am anxious about when would be the ideal time to plant them too.

Pot is probably about 5 lbs. 9" across, 1 gallon?

It will be much easier to manage once in the ground, so I'd plant it ASAP. Clematis require a bit of specialized attention when planting. You want to dig a very generously sized planting hole and amend it well with compost or organic matter. Plant the vine so that it is 4-6 inches deeper in the ground than it is in the container. Once the flowers have gone over, cut it back hard....to about 6" or the second set of leaf axils. It may produce a later rebloom but what you really want the plant to focus on is developing a good, strong root system.

Keep the plant well watered. It wants good drainage but consistently moist soil. If you have a heavy clay soil, plant exactly the same way but with a shallow but quite wide planting hole and bring the soil up in a mound to the same 4-6" depth above the current rootball.

You will get very detailed care and growing instructions on the Clematis forum, should you have additional questions.

Again, thank you for these thoughts, gardengal48. Just wanting to double-check that you did see the photos of the not perfectly healthy leaves. Wondering if I should return it.

Leaves are seldom perfect on a new plant and especially something like a clematis, where the vines get tangled up just in proximity. Cutting it back after the bloom cycle will help it enormously.

Fab. Thank you both, gardengal and Ken!

gardengal48, when you say plant up to the second set of leaf axils, shall I remove the leaves from the first set of leaf axils before planting?

gardengal48, I misread your post! I see now that you wrote to CUT the vine back to the second set of leaf axils!! Got it! Thank you!