Cutting them back only delays flowering. It doesn't stop it or harm the plants. In fact, cutting them back makes them fuller and invigorates them. Better to cut them back than not. If you've got brown growth with new shoots cut all the brown growth back to the lowest buds even though they are dormant. It will sprount out more vines. All Clematis, no matter what variety they are should be hard pruned the first few years.

One thing that I would add is that whether I would plant the clematis directly in the ground now depends on what sized pots the clematis were in and how developed their root systems are. If they are small plants with minimal root systems, I would pot them up into one gallon sized containers and wait for the roots to fill the pots before I planted them. The pots should be left outside until the top growth is nipped back by frost and the plants are fully dormant. Then the pots should be moved to an area where the temps. stay around, to slightly above, freezing for overwintering. The last thing you want to do is have the plants come out of dormancy over the winter and you have to try and keep them living. Now if you had a greenhouse, solarium, or similar structure, you could just place the pots in there and allow the clematis to do what they will over the winter.

I need help, too :D. I rooted what I think are incarnatas from some that grew wild last year. Took three months in a coke bottle, but finally got roots, and they did well inside in a containter over the winter, growing all over my desk. Now I've put them outside, in full sun with a trellis to crawl up, and they are less than spectacular after two weeks. They are blooming, but they are weak little blooms, and some of the lower leaves are a bit yellow. Is it just not the right time for them to flourish yet? They have not made any progress growing up the trellis. Any recommendations for watering or fertilizer? Thanks so much for any advice, Jan

let it be. water properly.. and wait... for me.. the usual would be.. it will come alive in mid to late fall..and then i would get to worry whether it would go dormant properly ... and the worry about it all winter long .. lol ... ground freeze and all in my area ... ken