Sadly what you bought are considered "bareroots"..you must soak them over night in water and pot them up in a one gallon pot..you must remember to keep them moist!!..they are dormant..and iffy at best..I never recommend buying bareroots..I would dig a hole in my garden where your sprinkler would water it for you in case you forget..drop the pot in the hole and bring the soil up around the pot..your clematis bareroot will have to live in that pot until you see roots coming out of the bottom of the pot before you can directly plant it into your gardens..this can easily take 4-6+ months..remember to keep pruning it..don't let it grow too long of vines (prune above the second leaf axil) for you want it to not be growing vines but focus on getting its rootsystem large and strong to survive in the garden..most imperative thing is too make sure the soil stays MOIST not SOGGY but moist ...Jeanne

I received a couple of bareroot clematis several years ago, and I did exactly what Jeanne recommends - except mine came in late March/early April and we were still deep into winter that year (so different from this year - spring started at the beginning of March!). I soaked, then potted them up as above, put them under lights, and waited. I planted them into my garden in late August. They did come through fine, and after a few years, grew into beautiful plants. But, I would never order them that way again.
Judith

Harlow Carr (after a long while...)

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Judith..you should be commended dear one ..they have done just beautifully..I think people's failure with bareroots is not knowing how to properly deal with them and that turns some people off from these lovely gifts from heaven..thinking they are hard to grow..I am so glad your experience was a positive one and they are stunning!!..congrats...Jeanne

Thanks, Jeanne! Those poor babies (there were two of them) were lucky I had been reading everything I could find on clematis at the time! Otherwise, in those early days just starting out, who knows what would have become of them? I am looking forward to their display this year. I am SO anxious for my clems (and roses) to start growing and blooming - I planted lots of new ones last year.
I have a very bad case of spring fever....
Judith

How exciting it will be to see all those new ones you planted come to life this year..they only get better with each passing year!!..do share pics when they are in bloom!!..Jeanne

Don't worry, Jeanne, I definitely will!
Judith