It's a good plant in OC, best the closer you are to the Ocean, in other words it's going to look better in Costa Mesa than in Fullerton. How much space do you have again? Realize that their DNA evolved over millions of years to make them be like this: They get 30' tall if you do not trim or shear, so keep that in mind. But you can do this to them: Yes both pictures show 'Silver Sheen'. You just have to realize you are going to be shearing or trimming them on a regular basis, eventually to fit in your space. Your photo shows a young plant, not a mature one. There are also selections of 'Silver Sheen' that are going to stay a lot shorter and don't need quite as much shearing as 'Silver Sheen'. 'Wrinkled Blue' and 'Tasman Ruffles' are two examples. You are going to have to watch out for scale infestations; scale is a sucking insect. You'll have to treat with systemic if that happens and make sure the flowers (which are tiny and not easily seen) are sheared off so you don't kill bees. You do not have space for Ficus nitida. There is a place for that plant as a screen, but your yard is not that place. My neighbor who has an acre, it is good for him. Ligustrum is an extremely reliable screen, boring, but reliable. But there are those flowers--which are not a problem IF you keep it as a hedge and shear it regularly--you'll be cutting the flowers off as they form and so bees will not be a problem. The Ligustrum flowers have an odor that is not pleasant to many noses.

Lack of rain can be a problem, especially during the main growing season. Clay not so much of a problem as that is what I garden in. Continued application of an organic mulch that will break down and add tilth to the soil will help in the long run. The past two years we have had drought conditions during the heat of the summer and for me the type IIIs handle those conditions better than the more delicate type IIs. I do have to water though. If you purchased the plants bareroot, it might be better to pot them up for a season and plant them in the garden during the fall or winter, depending on when you tend to have the most rain. This will allow the plants to get established during more hospitable conditions and not have to try and get established during the hotter and drier months.

Unless I was misreading the posts, it seemed like the issue was not about obtaining a rebloom on hardpruned type II's but even any significant first bloom. In particular, both BorS and flowerfan, who live in warmer but rather mild zones, reported insignificant flowering on these vines that were hardpruned. And the OP as well, who should have had at least a initial bloom flush. As stated, I tend to hard prune most of my clems - at least those that need annual pruning. And while I sometimes don't get a rebloom on my hard pruned type II's, I always get a pretty impressive if slightly delayed initial bloom season from these vines. Why this procedure doesn't offer similar results to others in similar climates is a bit of mystery to me and I have no good answers. FWIW, my wholesale nursery cuts back their potted clematis on a fairly routine basis, just for management purposes (if you've ever seen an entire growing field of 1000's of tangled and intertwined clematis vines, you'd understand :-)). Almost without exception the type II's will rebloom and even some of the type I's - type III's are a given. So I'm not sure if establishment or maturity of the vine plays a large role. It must be climate and summer warmth that ripens the new growth rapidly but that just makes the previous results from several posters even more confusing.

We had a pool built last year and chose a Pebble Tec finish. I am now so sorry we did. I wish we'd saved the $$$ and had just gone for the old fashioned plaster finish. I'm 62 and use the pool for aqua exercises for my arthritis, and part of my routine is to walk MANY steps back and forth in the pool. The first few days I did this, the bottoms of my feet ended up RAW. At first I didn't make the connection. But finally on about the 3rd day, I realized it was from the surface of the pool. My feet were so sore I could hardly walk on them. My feet are not that sensitive. I walk around barefoot all day when I'm home. I now wear either water shoes or mesh shower shoes in the pool. I thought maybe I could "toughen up" the bottoms of my feet, but the few times I've tried to go in barefoot since the beginning, I can feel the irritation, and end up putting my shoes back on.