Hi, they’re bare roots. I’ve bought some before from Costco but only had blooms the next year.

They may or may not be as labeled. They are small and bare root, and may or may not have had conditions that allowed survival. If they haven’t been there long, it is only $8. Pot it up when you get it home in a pot that is quart sized, put a fluorescent shop light close to it, and see how it does. Window light alone is likely not bright enough.

Yes, bare root starts. Often a very economical way to purchase your standard clematis varieties. I've not bought from HD but have from Costco, simply because the varieties they offered were a bit less common.

IME, bare root clems are best potted up for a full growing season - to help develop a strong root system and to protect very vulnerable "baby" vines :-) Personally, nothing smaller than a gallon sized plant (with a comparble root mass) gets planted directly in my garden, as they are too small to compete successfully with other plants and withstand disturbance from weeding or critters.

If you purchase now and pot up, they should be of appropriate size and ready to plant out in fall. And I would not expect to see any flowers from these starter vines for at least a couple of seasons.

ETA: in zone 7, I would not expect it necessary for these to remain indoors at all!

Thanks everyone.

I think I'll skip them since I know I can get them elsewhere for $20 or so that are much bigger and ready to go in the ground right away.

I have never purchased Clematis from any big box like this but bulbs and perennials that I did in the past were almost always mislabeled....many may not care but I do want the cultivar I paid for....

Just purchased Ville de Lyon and HF Young from Walmart yesterday, potted them right away in 1 gallon pots. They are small but I have a 2 yr. old HF Young from Walmart that I planted out last year, it bloomed and is looking good this year. I also order from companies like Joy Creek - got a package from them today with a Margaret Hunt and a Mrs. Cholmondeley - very nice sized plants, could be potted in the ground now. I like watching them grow, but there isnt a great choice at the box stores - I enjoy doing both.

Judith

I've bought them this way before and they grow fine, as well as bloom in the same year. Just a small growth, though.

Although the bulbs tend to go on sale later on in the season, but the fresher and better you can get these bagged bulbs, the better. The oriental and asiatic lily bulbs and dahlias seem to be better at holding out until the late season sales, but others of these bagged/boxed bulbs or bare roots, I may suggest to get them sooner rather than later.

Please, can we not refer to them as bulbs?? It is very misleading as clematis are not, by any stretch of the imagination, bulbous plants!! What you find in those little plastic bags filled with peat are a small tangle of gold (hopefully) colored roots and maybe a couple of anemic lookng sprouts. They do not have the same storage ability as any bulb would and should be planted ASAP after purchase

Whether you choose to plant them directly in the ground or pot up and grow on until they are better able to fend for themselves is up to you. But don't expect wonderful results immediately. It takes time for even much larger clematis plants to establish, develop a proper root system and grow and bloom as anticipated. Bare root bagged starts are just mere infants in the clematis world and need 2-3+ years of TLC before they look and act as you would expect!!