If just planted last season, a hard pruning may actually be very good for the vine, strengthening the root system and encouraging more shoots to develop from the root crown. This tends to make the large flowering hybrids more wilt resistant. Fertilize with rose or tomato/vegetable fertilizer and keep well watered during the growing season. I also mulch them well with compost to keep the roots cool and provide additional nutrients to the soil. FWIW, I prune my type II clematis back hard each year and although they may not bloom quite as early as those not so severely pruned, they do bloom profusely. Our long growing season and mild climate seems to give them an edge compared to colder climates, where a hard prune CAN affect blooms.

Very nice clematis! Very healthy looking! Right... the way you are pruning yours, it is flowering on new wood. By doing that you are missing out on the early larger flowers. I don't prune my group 2's down to any particular height. I just prune out the dead wood for the most part. I will at times (not every year though) trim the very top down (in the spring) just a little when I do it... maybe a foot. It all depends on how it is looking. Right... in the spring group 2's do look like a mess with the dead leaves and tangled vines. You can spend considerable time and a back ache grooming them to perfection. :) It's a tangled maze! I've accidently cut off live portions at times. :) I trim off or rub the dead leaves in between my fingers to get rid of them. Finding dead wood from live wood... Yes, you wait until you see the buds swell up and you know which parts are dead and which are live. Some of the dead ones may be dead altogether or just dead down to a certain point... so depending on the situation... prune out the dead ones completely or prune out the dead section down to a swelling live bud. Some vines will find their way up the support all by themselves, but I do as you stated for some... as the plant is growing I PLACE the vines where I want them as they are growing up the support. You guide them and they will take hold fast. If you start treating yours like a group 2, the majority of vines will already be in place next year.

I don't grow Nelly, but in my experience second year plants are still busy growing roots. This seems to be true whether I plant them as tiny first year plants or as second year plants. I get my first blooms on third year plants usually, in the range of about 15 or 20 blossoms, and in succeeding years I get more each year. The only plant I've had bloom the first year in the ground was one that was a couple of gallon pot, not sure how old it was then. Clematis are wonderful plants, but require patience. Adequate moisture is important, "cool feet" aren't, so your mulch is perfect to keep moisture levels even.

Cybertrek, here's a link to the clematis forum FAQ on transplanting. It can be done - just plan on a year for the plant to recover - a mature clematis can have an impressive root system! Do you know what variety you have? It could be a sun issue, especially if it is a pink, but sometimes the colors are awfully hard to capture accurately in a photo. I have a Silver Moon I must have taken a dozen photos of this summer and I didn't got one I felt was really accurate. Here is a link that might be useful: Transplanting clematis