What type of care did you give it in the spring? Did you fertilize it? How old is your niobe?

Type IIs commonly do this unless you pinch them when they start growing in spring. Especially when they are newly planted for the first couple of years.

I'm not sure how old it is, I got it last year but it was somewhat well established... I'll guess about three years old perhaps.

No, I didn't do anything during the spring. I didn't realize I had to.

So need to pinch the type IIs when they start trying to bud?

Will I need to do anything special for my Polish Spirits next year? I think they'll be two next spring since they were bitty when I got them last year.

In the Spring, when the forsythia is starting to bloom, cut back all newer clematis for the first couple of years to the first or second node. When you do this, scratch some rose food or tomato food into the soil. This weill help to establish a good strong root system and to help as many vines come from the crown as possible.

Your niobe ia a type II and will benefit immensely from being cut back. After a couple of years of doing this, you can start to treat it as a type II is typically treated.

Your Polish Spirit is a type III and every year you are going to want to cut him back in the Spring.

Check out the FAQ - the process is outlined there for all 3 pruning groups.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clematis FAQ's

I knew the general rules outlined in the FAQs for pruning. I did cut it back last spring and took the polish spirits all the way to the ground.

It was the lack of twining that had me confused. I'll make sure to remember about the food though, I tend to be very bad about fertilizing outside plants.

I have to tuck almost all of my Clems into whatever they are growing on. They are not strong twiners.

Any Clematis that is newly planted in your garden is considered "new" regardless of how old or how big it was in the nursery pot.

They require at least three years to get established from transplanting. They are not instant gratification plants.

Type IIs will grow one long scraggly vine with few flowers unless they are pruned or pinched in the spring as they start to grow. This is not odd, it is normal.

Polish Spirit is a very vigorous Type III and will grow differently from Niobe.

I had some Type IIs and Is that I never pruned. I did not know that you should hard prune them like IIIs every year when first planted.

They grew one or two really long vines with few flowers for almost ten years until I chopped them down several years in a row. Now they have dozens of vines and hundreds of flowers.

Thank you very much for clarifying for me, how exactly do I pinch them? I mean, I can definitely hazard a guess but would appreciate any comments you have :D