Plant the clematis in a sunny spot. Next summer you can shade the roots with either mulch or with plants put in the ground adjacent to the clematis. This is actually something that I haven't ever worried about. I usually have some type of mulch and most of my clematis are in beds with other plants, but I am not sure that it is a make or break requirement. Main thing is to get this into the ground for the winter.

Thank you asarum. I'll put it in the ground tomorrow. The lady at Mahoney's said to plant it deeper than it is in the pot and to put some mulch around it. Maybe this is part of what she meant. I didn't read the fine print when I bought it and found out when I got home it is a zone 6+ plant. I'll follow your advice and plant it now (with mulch). I never knew mulch provided "shade" but that makes sense. Thanks again.

Not a silly question. My first reaction to the Mahoney's advice to plant deep was that it was wrong, but I checked around and apparently that is standard ops for clematis. I'm not sure that it will really make a zone 6 plant survive in zone 5, though.

There's a good basic guide to planting at clematis.org that says:

Always cut the container before planting your clematis. This minimizes the risk of damaging your plant when removing it from the container. Gently remove the clematis rootball from the container and plant it in the hole so that the base of the plant's stems are sunk 3" to 5" below soil level. Leave the original stake on the clematis for the first year to act as a support as well as a protection against accidental breakage.

Place a 3" to 4" layer of soil amendment or peat moss over the root zone. Keep the mulch 8" away from the stem to avoid stem rot.

I'm not sure if they're advising you to pile the extra soil right against the stems, which I would have thought would be bad (but, apparently I was wrong).

Here is a link that might be useful: basics guide at clematis.org

Clematis Florida Sieboldii is way too tender for Z5. It has mixed references for zone... some say 5, 6, 7, even 8!!! definitely not 5. Likely 6 is borderline too. Can you put it in a garage or basement for the winter and bring it out next March. At least that way you may be able to get some usage as an annual for a year.

I had a seiboldii offspring (Vienna) that I kept in the basement under lights with tropicals for the winter. THe next season it bloomed wonderfully from March to October. I kinda lost track of it since then. Its probably dead somewhere.

Thank you, diggingthedirt, the information on the link was helpful as you outlined in your response. I didn't want to pay a $20.00 membership fee for the site but the link you provided had a lot of useful information.

wendyb, you always have good advice so I'm thinking of overwintering but am still leaning toward trying to plant it. You can say "I told you so" in 2010! I actually found one web site that said it was good to zone 4 but that was the exception - most said zone 6.

After extremely limited success with starting from seeds this year (I will try winter sowing this December), I decided to buy several different plants to experiment. Mahoney's in Winchester had a lot of perennials marked down 50% so starting in September I was going in there, writing down the names of plants I thought might work, going home and looking them up on the web and then going back the next day to buy the ones I wanted based on my previous night's research. Unfortunately or fortunately, they kept adding plants to the sale and I kept writing down more plants....etc....going back the next day (several times). My rationalization was it was better to kill plants at 50% off than kill plants at full price! The Floriday Sieboldii was an impulse purchase based on the picture with the plant (my fault) and was part of the 33% off sale.

In the spirit of the movie "Field of Dreams", I used to think "if you plant it, it will grow" - how naive. Thank you both for your help, as always, it is appreciated.

zahzeen, unfortunately , as much as i appreciate many things about mahoneys, it really bugs me that they often sell plants that are NOT hardy here. your clem. seib. florida is something I've craved ever since first seeing it in the PNW 20 yrs ago, when I returned here to research all my new finds, only to cover my entries pages with NH, NH, NH, NH... (not hardy, not hardy, not hardy....). I'm going to 'should' you and tell you that you should make mahoneys give you your money back. shame on them.

best,
mindy but what a killer clematis.!......

Thanks arbo return. I might just do that. I hate spending $12.00 on something that has less than a 50% survival rate. One of the saleswomen at Mahoney's had also purchased one but of course she is much, much more experienced than I am and maybe had her own greenhouse or had some other place to grow it.

I saw your response and thought maybe I'd finally make it by your place in Winchester (I've driven by before) when I go to Mahoney's to return it next week. Then I looked on your link and saw you are only open through October! Oh, well, maybe next year. Thanks again.

zahzeen, i only say that because its so messy w/ all the downed leaves. But many things are still going strong and the 52 j maples are glorious, and and and..... hope you stop by and get a taste! we're 7 min. from mahoneys.
best,
mindy

Thank you all for your help. I returned the plant today at the Mahoney's "Ladies Night Out". I had to explain what you guys said to the manager (he was at the door where I walked in) before the return was approved. Yipes! Mindy, thanks for your pointed response. I think repeating what you had posted was what was finally convinced the manager. I mentioned your first name and moniker and suddenly, no problem. I was very surprised to be questioned AT ALL for something I bought less than 30 days ago on October 22nd, in the original pot, with the original tag, with a receipt. It was part of their 33% off perennials, but I bought other plants that said specifically "no return" because they were on sale but this item did not. Anyway the good news is now I don't have to worry about roots in shade and blooms in sun and more importantly, a zone 6 plant which doesn't seem to have an even fair chance to grow. Thank you all again.