In your zone, I wouldn't hesitate about planting now. However the tiny clematis starts I purchased early this year and potted up are not yet ready or fully enough developed for me to plant out yet so will wait until spring for those.

It will probably take me until spring to figure out where they are going anyway :-) I have no idea where there is room enough for them all and I probably should not have purchased them.......but they were just too cute and too cheap and I couldn't resist!

lol I know the feeling. I often get something if I really want it....figuring I will find a place for it later. :) Thanks! I am going to start looking online. Any recommendations?

I have only mail ordered from Joy Creek - I get most of what I want locally - but what I got was large sized, well packed and in excellent condition. The only drawback with ordering now for fall planting is that stock tends to be low so if you are looking for something in particular, you may have to wait until next spring.

Thank you both for the information!

gardengal - how do you overwinter your potted clematis?

In my climate.......? Just as is :-) No special treatment required. However, I would not necessarily recommend this practice for everyone, especially those in colder zones,

I bought some tiny bare root bagged roots of clematis at Walmart in spring and they did pretty well potted up in gallon pots. I planted one or two of those in late fall and have others I'm leaving out in pots. Did you pot yours up , Carolina, or did you plant directly in the ground? Seems to me that small plant roots need to fill in at least a gallon pot before planting in the ground though I am no expert on clematis.

It depends. If planted where they don’t have competition in my garden, even tiny plants have been fine, and usually end up in better shape than those that I keep in pots over the summer. But that reflects my area’s regular rain, good soil, and my poor track record in caring for potted plants. Most folks pot them up for at least the first season, I think.