Clematis help please

For the clematis, you do need to watch when they flower so that you can establish what type it is, i.e. when it needs pruning, what sort and how much.

Oleanders - yes they are poisonous. But they are grown absolutely everywhere here in the South of France, Italy, Greece, Spain etc., etc. Our garden has hedges of them, along with all our neighbours, they're grown on roundabouts, autoroutes, public parks etc.,
and are very pretty. My advice would be not to have them in your garden if you they can be accessed by small children or pets which chew things. The main thing to remember is that they grow very quickly with lots of flowers, hate to have wet feet, withstand some neglect but need regular winter pruning, and when you touch either leaves, flowers, branches or roots, you always need to be wearing gardening gloves. All our garden waste goes to the tip, so anything cut is never left lying in the garden.
We live with ours quite happily, it's not like you will keel over if you brush against the plant!

I would put them straight into the larger pots too, as they really do not like their roots exposed. Looking at the pictures, the new pots are not too large and they may need bigger pots in a couple of years.
I hope they do well.

We had an oleander which died so I didn't replace it after I found out how poisonous they are and by which time we had grandchildren.

I didn't realise that oleander are any more poisonous than a lot of other plants, but it doesn't encourage familiarity. The leaves have a roughness to them which suggests they're not friendly which is why we planted ours out of the way. It's pretty inaccessible.

Come to think of it, it has no weeds growing around it.

* decent growth and display.

(Sorry - hit post accidentally)

I am shocked to hear about the Oleanders. I certainly don't remember there being any warnings about them being toxic on the TV presentation.

The flowers are starting to open and they are very pretty so I am loathe to get rid. I will give careful consideration as to where to place them.

The Clematis are still looking very small in their pots, but I'm hopeful of a dec

Oleander is one of the most poisonous plants you can grow; every part of the plant is toxic to both humans and animals.

Someone has already said to keep the roots shaded. That’s good advice.

We’re in Norfolk and have an oleander. It’s at the back of a deep border about three foot from the hedge which shelters it from the north and a large trellis to the east with a rampant clematis to keep the east wind off. It’s quite hardy tucked out of the way there, took the beast from the east in it’s stride. It’s about ten years old now and a good tempered easy plant. I don’t know about it being toxic. I always assume most plants are unless I’m sure they’re edible.

It would help if you can identify your clematis when they flower as one sort needs to be cut back each autumn and the other climbs rampantly and just needs a trim.

@HurdyGurdy
I suggest you get rid of the oleanders, they're extremely toxic and dangerous. If you're in the U.K. they probably won't survive, Google the name and you'll see what I mean.

Thank you all so much for your advice. Well, they're in the big pots, and they look so tiny and helpless lol. Much like putting a tiny newborn baby into a full sized cot - they just look swallowed up by the pot.

I look forward to seeing how they progress

General rule for clematis: hot head and cold feet. In other words, plant the roots as deep as you can and anything above ground to be as sunny and sheltered as possible. They're a lot hardier than you might think. I planted one of mine to grow over and across my porch. A few months later, I had a new garden fence installed and the men doing it poured post-crete over the base of the clematis. I was certain it was a gonner. But the following summer it was bigger and better than ever and continues to flourish beautifully to this day. They're pretty tough and can cope with anything except drought.

I like the cage, is it metal or plastic?

Put them straight in to the big pots and the deeper the better . Water well and stand in a well lit spot but shade the roots as has been said already
The cages need to be put in place now before they grow

Look on the R H S website and they will tell you all you need to know. We grow ours in large pots, let them get established and they will give you lots of lovely blooms. We put bark in our pots as a top dressing to protect the roots and keep the soil moist, also prevents weeds taking root. Feed with diluted phostrogen powder as well.

Plant them really deep. Deeper than you think sensible like 3-4 inches below the surface as this will help prevent wilt.
I have a couple of clematis in pots.

Try to shade the roots if possible. I use a piece of old broken pot.

Head in the sun feet in the shade is a good rule.

In the spring look up about pruning depending on their class and bung on a good manure mulch and feed fish blood and bone. They will repay you well

He has put the sweet peas in the pots with the clematis, there is plenty of room.
We are in a bit of a frost pocket which has caught some of the leaves. We really need some rain!

Here is a photo.

MiniMoon - thank you. That is really useful.

Do you mean your husband has put sweet peas in the pots alongside the clematis, or swapped the clematis for sweet peas?

I am so new to all this gardening malarkey - I know next to nothing so this forum has been a godsend to me.

I planted some sweet pea seeds in a trough last month and was disproportionately excited to see them starting to peep through last week!

Thank you tanith. That's helpful.

No - I don't recall the variety being mentioned on the sales slot on the TV, and I just assumed that care instructions would be provided.

I also bought two Oleander trees which also arrived without care instructions, so that was another "well what do I do with these" moment!

Just waiting for the final purchase - a dual fruit tree - to arrive. I'm guessing there will be no care instructions with that either

My husband bought these last summer. He planted them straight into the big pots, and erected the climbing cages. They grew beautifully and flowered. They are doing well again this year. They are hardy and coped well.

This year he has planted some sweet peas in the pots to give some extra blossom.

Even though the pots are large I think I’d let them settle for a week or so as they then pot them straight into their forever homes. They won’t need the cages just yet though, keep them well watered and put lots of drainage in the bottom of the pots. I have several clematis in pots and tend to either put gravel or pebbles on top of the soil as they hate to be dried out and that helps keep the roots damp. Didn’t it say when you ordered them what variety’s they were?