Wish I could give you some good advice, however, I certainly am a novice when it comes to the Picardy. I do know that it was very unhappy (new shoots dying out...) when I decided I needed to transplant. While the mature vines were still growing and blooming, it was very frustrating to see all the new shoots shrivel up and die. BTW, that was actually the second transplant. It had come in an 8 inch pot, and the roots were coming out of the bottom and showing on the surface, so that's when the first transplant came...to the large ceramic pot. Bad choice. It wasn't in that very long. Just a few weeks. My gut feeling is, if it's hanging in there now, I would not transplant in very hot weather...especially to a container. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Just curious, is yours loaded with flower buds? When mine was 18", there were buds everywhere. I was totally impressed. Hope yours does well for you. It really is a gorgeous Clematis which puts on a great show all Summer. All the best, Elaine

Went to hear Raymond Evison give a talk just last Sunday here in Portland. He has a new book out which is about clems for smaller spaces. I've always just walked past his entire patio series but he convinced me that they are worth the price. He also has a new collection called FLORA which are even more compact. The first one released here is Bijou. Filigree will be in the states in '09. Both are so pretty, petite and covered with flowers. Mr Evison says that they are putting the emphisis in their breeding program on the smaller, longer blooming clems. There is a wholesale nursery here in the Willamette Valley that grows his vines but even here first and second year availability can be spotty. Look later in the season. And yes the "ponytail cut" was recommended. He also varied a little from what I consider conventional wisdom about pruning new transplants. He said no matter what the pruning group, the first spring after putting the clem in the soil, trim to 12". Much thicker lusher plant no matter which type.

I hope they are not goners. If it is any consolation, a lot of mine haven't broken dormancy yet or appeared above ground. I don't get desperate enough to dig up the plant entirely or de-pot it to check for rotten roots until June. I have lost more to waterlogged roots than to cold. Last Fall I planted some pots in large tub-like pots where the round was too difficult to dig or roots would have to compete with trees or shrubs. I put wire fencing around the pots or group of pots & stuffed with fallen tree leaves. Then I put cardboard boxes over the top to absorb some melting snow. But after I uncovered the pots for the Spring we had a whopper of a snowstorm mid April. Until this last week, only 2 of my above ground pots showed any life, And only about half of the inground ones. I noticed that the garden soil I had topped the pots with was rather hard as it dried out, I scratched about half inch deep on the surface and a tad deeper if there was any old stem still left after the fierce winds we had this year. Found a few coming up this way and a few more appeared within a few days. I had learned from planting lilies in pots that they would be less likely to rot if the container was filled to the brim with soil than if any space was left for water to accumulated. Yesterday I decided that the still no-shows might be strugling to get through the top layer, which was much tougher clay than I had thought. So I scratched deeper and removed the now broken up clay top layer and found a few more green new shoots, A few still weren't visable after digging down 4" or so, but I had freed them from the clay and will wait a week or so before trying the next strategy, whatever than might be. I had noticed a few weeks ago that one, Avant Gard, had not had it's inground pot completely filled in and in the half inch of open space some snow melt was accumulated. I have a feeling that this one might have gotten root rot from this. Didn't think of putting more dry soil on top to try to absorb the moisture. Will have to wait & see. Lesson learned - mix more compost in top layer when filling in the pots. Will do this for new ones and in returning soil to the late sleepers that I just uncovered. Marie in ME

Cindy, perhaps the original potting medium was one with water absorbing crystals or some additive that helps hold moisture in the soil. In light of all the rain you have had, I would only water the plant when it needed it. Push your finger into the soil and see if it needs water. You might be able to look in the bottom drain holes and see if the soil at the bottom is moist. Do not water it if there is still moisture in the soil. Overwatering can occur in pots although some people might have a hard time believing so. Make sure the plant gets adequate sun. I would hold off on fertilizing the plant since most nursery plants are fed with time released fertilizers and the plant is not going to need additional food until it starts actively growing.