I bought 3 new Clematis in the August late sales.
Planted each one in its own bucket size quantity of good compost. Fixed the stems to supporting netting or canes.
The stems are dying down now.
Hope you havent bought ' Montana.'
If you have plant it so it grows up the side of your house as far as the chimney pot !
My neighbour's daughter planted one and trimmed it as a
3 foot hedge about 10 years ago. It put all its energy into the stem, which is now 18" thick. Died.
Going to be a massive job for someone with a chain saw,
to remove it.

Hello Malcolm.

In theory, you can plant container-grown plants (I assume that's what you have) at any time except when the ground is frozen or waterlogged, but autumn or spring is best.

For full planting info and more, on any plant, go to the RHS website.

Assuming you haven't got the plants yet, the ideal time for planting both clematis and passiflora caerula is spring. Passiflora caerula can be killed in a severe winter, particularly if it is new or small; clematis are more likely to survive if they're planted in the ground, but do better if planted in spring. Of course, it depends on what sort of winter we get - if its anything like the last two winters, there won't be a problem with either of them if you plant in autumn - the planting in spring recommendation is more to do with the possibility of a more normal winter, the kind we used to get.

If you have your plants already, then there's not much choice, but plant them out as quickly as possible now, while there's still warmth in the ground and in the air, keeping them well watered if the weather is dry through October.

I am going to wrap each new one of mine in fleece in November for 3 months. Best be safe than sorry.

If you do an internet search, Malcolm and Diane, you'll see that early autumn is an ideal time to plant as the soil is still warm and the plants will get a good start, ie. you'll have much stronger growth next year.

Clematis is fully hardy, but Passiflora is a frost-tender plant, and a cold winter may kill it off regardless of when you plant. To minimise the the risk, make sure you site it in a south- or west-facing and sheltered position.

Whilst its true that the majority of hardy plants, particularly shrubs and evergreens, are best planted in autumn, it isn't true for all plants. In regard to Passiflora, you will note I mention Passiflora caerulea specifically - this is the hardy form of Passiflora, its hardy throughout most of the UK (-10 to -5 degC) - other varieties of Passiflora are frost tender. Even so, as I already said, a new or young passiflora caerulea is much more vulnerable to cold in its first year, so its safer to plant in spring.

Also on the list for ''best planted in spring' are Ceanothus, Garrya elliptica, Phormium and a few others.