Root bound clematis

I have bought a lovely clematis but when I managed to remove from the pot it is very root bound, what is the best thing to do with it before replanting in the ground?

Gently tease out the root ball having watered it beforehand (just makes things a little easier ) and once you have loosened it up it will be just fine to plant.

Take a thin slice off the bottom of the root ball, with a spade or knife, and then put in four shallow cuts up the sides of the root ball. This will encourage new root growth out into the soil

& re plant it with it's feet in the shade & it's head in the sun.

Do you add any fertiliser when planting ?
What do you feed them with & how often ?
Thanks

Don't touch it. And certainly don't tease out the roots or slice them off. Quickest way to kill a clematis.
samanya right with feet in the shade and head in the sun. BUT dig the hole and PLANT at least 2 inches deeper than it has been grown in the pot. I know that goes against general planting advice but it is critical. It will help to avoid clematis wilt. Disturb it as little as possible. Some experts even go so far as to recommend just taking the bottom out of the bag or the pot but I'm not a fan of that. Make sure that the hole you dig is free draining because they HATE being drowned. Your planting medium should be good soil plus compost plus a bit of bonemeal. You can always top fertilise as needed. If you have already teased the roots or caused any breakages to the roots, you could still plant it deep and cut back all the topgrowth as it will probably re-sprout. If the place where you plant it does not have sufficient protection from hot sun, then place two or three big stones beside the stem (not touching) to protect the rootball. Good luck - let us know how it goes.

I've just realised that this post was dated 5th October. So, the interesting thing will be now - did it survive? What did they do? If you're around midnight42 - perhaps you will tell us!

I wonder also how it did. I was given several very pot bound plants 2 or 3 years ago and this is how I treated them, although with much care. They never looked back and are growing well now. Thanks for that Piquant as I had no idea they were so sensitive. I must have just been lucky. Does it depend on the variety as all mine were ?English? clematis. As for taking the bottom out of the pots and planting, well I was informed many years ago to plant them inside a tin raised above soil level. Never done that. Thought it was to protect them from the cold. Enlightenment please.

No, all to do with clematis wilt. If you notice when you take a clematis out of a pot, it's an absolute mass of root that seems to form a ball. It's just how they grow. Your treatment would be appropriate for most other plants that were rootbound but there is always an exception to the rule! I've never heard of the planting inside a tin trick - maybe it was because the soil was not so free draining, possibly? A lot of clematis growers actually incorporate Trichopel in their potting mix to assist with clematis wilt so it's often not necessary these days to use that when planting. I'm not quite sure what you mean by English clematis - do you mean the hybrids (large flowered types)? If you should have to do any remedial work to the roots at any stage - do it in the autumn and cut back the top growth to lessen the strain on the roots. But, if they are planted in open ground, that shouldn't be at all necessary. As long as they have a cool root run and something to climb up and a nice mulch of leaf mold - they'll be happy. Actually - they are pretty tough plants once they are in the right spot. I once had a Nelly Moser that used to put up a wonderful show every year. Then we had the fence replaced and the guys stood on it, broke it down, poured a concrete footing within an inch of its life and compacted the soil so much I thought nothing would ever grow in it again. I was gutted. But, when I had forgotten all about it - up popped Nelly Moser - bigger and better than she had ever been - she's probably still there if the truth be known!

Do not know much about Clematis , so totally ignorant re Clematis wilt. Will have google. Thanks.

Nothing. it will do just fine once you plant it.

Yes, the clematis is doing well and lots of flowers just hope wilt doesn't turn up. Dug a hole and planted it, didn't fiddle with the roots.