Here's the post:

I just received 3 clematis and I got 2 roses about a month ago. Since I am gardening on a balcony, my space is limited and I think I got carried away ordering.

So my question is this: Should I put all my clematis together in one container, and maybe get an obelisk? Or, since I have read that clematis and roses do well together, should I combine a rose and a clematis? (Don't think color is a problem ... the clematis are lavendar/blue/pink and the roses are pale yellow and very pale peach). Can I use Rosetone on the clematis?

In case it matters, the clematis are: Belle of Woking, Edouard Defosse and Pillu.

Planting instructions say to include bone meal, and I have heard bone meal isn't that effective ... is it necessary? (asking since I don't have any)

As a side note, I was stunned that the Pillu arrived with 2 blooms and 2 buds. I am used to getting sticks with a couple of wilty leaves in the mail.

BTW, unless the obelisk is really tall (like 5ft - 6ft), they'll blow past it. And even with the taller things, you still have to train the vines to go somewhere or they'll fall over in a tangled mess - even if trained on a rose. I put mine on a tomato cage which was about 3ft tall but where I could wrap the vines around and around the structure of it. This is what it looked like before it started blooming:

When it burst into bloom at the end of June (really early for it), it looked like this, where it could flower near the top where it could get sun past all the shrubs across from it:

Here's the Social Climber:

I can't imagine that container could support two plants with substantial root systems.

posiegirl - I like your rose container combination and like that trellis too!

With respect to using bone meal, I just sprinkle a little around the soil in late winter/early spring. You can use that for bulbs and even peonies. Bone meal is a good source of phosphorous so really, most plants could benefit from some.