I lucked on my first planting of clematis and received a 3 yr gallon-sized plant. It's now in the ground and putting out shoots. Lovely.

Received some of my other plants today--bare roots! Bare being the operative word.

All the manuals and my research say to plant the bare root crown at least two inches below the soil. I understand the crown to be where the roots meet at the stem. I found some great pics on the web that showed the kind of bare roots I purchased (3-5 roots). However, some of the plants have green buds/leaves right at the crown. And some have buds off a 2-3 "stem."

Do those green buds go two inches under as well? If there is a stem, should the buds remain on top of the soil.

Any help appreciated. I think I may not be cut out for bare roots and will find more gallon plants. Thanks, Kristine