You probably figured this out already, but it's never a good idea to use soil in pots. :)

I've never heard of anyone putting clay in a pot much less garden soil...!

I'm sure this isn't the first time someone put garden soil into a pot. :)

Unfortunately, I've talked to plenty of people who used dirt in pots rather than potting soil. It is a fairly common mistake among those not obsessed with gardening.

Manure and fertilizer both on tiny baby Clems is scary too....

OMG, no garden soil in pots?! Not even nice amended garden soil? How come?

I overwintered (for the first time) a few clems in sunk pots with garden soil and was thrilled they lived... I guess I should be even more thrilled.

Well, I'm off to perform njmomma's Step 5 on four clemmies I just dug out, found were too small to have been in the ground, and potted up with the incorrect medium. With luck I won't have to experience Step 6.

A very long learning curve with clems, isn't it? But they're worth it!

I'm actually a very good gardener and not a beginner, but I almost NEVER pot anything up so I'm a novice container gardener. :) Hey, at least I fixed them before they got drowned.

cohouser - most of us have a high content of clay in our soil, which magically turns to muck or concrete when in a pot.

Your clematis should now be much more happy with their roots in that good potting mix :)

Terry

Digging disturbs soil structure. Even well draining garden soil can compact and not drain well in pots. Potting soil is a lot less nutritious but it drains well. Unless one uses a junk brand or as I found out the hard way Miracle Gro Moisture Control. I rotted out almost my entire greenhouse.

I quite often add a handful of loam (e.g. screened, bagged topsoil) and a handful of grit sand to a basic lightweight potting mix. It seems to stop the mix drying out too fast and give it some structure. Proportionally my mix will contain more of the free-draining lightweight stuff, of course - just a small amount of loam and grit. Also some slow-release fertiliser.

Ornata, I also do the same by adding a small portion of good quality loam, this helps adds a bit of weight, substance and nutrients ... otherwise, the potting mixture can often be overly light and anemic and drying out very quickly.

Terry

I'm lucky to have a really great local brand of potting soil here that needs no help.

I've used garden soil for years. I wouldn't use the clay... and it's from my raised bed I add to for use with veggies. I'll have to keep a look out for too much compactness... hmm. I dig get a clogged hole once and had to drill it out.