Actually your plant is doing quite well for the first year. Remember that a clematis, like a rose, takes about 3 years to develop. Many do not see any blooms on their clematis for the first year. It may or may not develop any other stems this year. What you would do is trim it back to 12" in early spring. This will encourage more stems to develop from the root ball. That being said I can tell you the pot you planted it in is way too small. It's OK for this year but in early spring you need to move it to a larger pot. 18" by 18" is a much better size. Also remember it can dry out easily in a pot, keep an eye on the moisture in the pot. I grow some of my young ones in 1 gal containers and need to water every other day in the heat of the summer. Do deadhead the flowers and don't feed it while it's blooming. Good luck with your clematis. katie

All I can say is I always got what I expected. I have a half-dozen Jackmani--some bought different years, and possibly from different garden centers. They all came out looking about the same--larger flowers. I also ordered online 1 etoile violette. It looks right to me--somewhat smaller flower and leaf, wider spaces between blooms, etc. On the other hand, many people buy them when they are not in bloom, so I wouldn't be surprised sometimes if they get a mislabled one. I'm still wondering about the difference between a regular Jackmani and the so-called "improved" Jackmani Superba. Have no idea which I may have. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say. Kate

Charis, How do you know that the soil is poorly draining? When you water it does the water go down within a half hour? Or does it puddle and stay wet and not go down into the ground? Time it. Clematis doesn't need to watered religiously. How often are you watering it? A couple times a week for a newly planted one is fine. Especailly since it is hot. If your soil puddles and the water just sits there after you water the plant, you must find a place that has better drainage. You could improve drainage, but its a lot of work and the clematis roots are going to be really large, huge, so I'm afraid just a foot of soil isn't nearly enough. Besides, if you have orange clay type soil, you will have a bowl effect and the water will still damage the plant. Find another spot for it.

In many areas Sweet Autumn clematis (C. terniflora) is invasive and seeds around. I don't think it has a long enough time to ripen seeds well in my area, but I've read numerous times of it causing problems where it's warmer, so you might want to consider other plants or at least research if it creates problems in your area. If you aren't familiar with Clematis on the Web here is their search engine so you can put in the height you want, and/or pruning type, month with bloom (though take months of bloom with a grain of salt since weather has a lot to do with this) and see what pops up. (Anything you don't care or don't know leave blank.) Not all those plants will be available commercially in the US, but many will be by mail order from reputable nurseries such as Hummingbird Farm, Joy Creek, Brushwood, to name my three favorites. Sweet Autumn is vigorous enough that I don't think there are any other clematis that won't have issues trying to not be overwhelmed by it. I'd suggest planting a few more plants that all have similar size, and look for plants that have longer bloom time. For instance, Mikelite blooms fairly fully for at least 4 weeks and perhaps longer for me even though it's only been in the ground 2 seasons. Ville de Lyon is another plant with a long bloom period in my garden. Confetti blooms later than any other type 3 plant in my garden, but you can also look at Mrs. Robert Brydon which blooms in August for me. Hopefully, others will have suggestions for longer-blooming or later-blooming plants.