Are the Giant Nasturtiums stunting my clematis

My first post here so hello to everyone. I am a long time gardener, mostly the container variety except for a couple of years when I had a front and a back yard but I digress. Anyhow I look forward to active participation here. So, the matter at hand - I got two bare root plugs clematis - hf young and ville de lyon from lowes ($8 each, the package said they were 1 year old) this march and planted them in a 12 inch pot. I didn't soak the roots or spread them because i had no idea how to handle plugs and didn't do any research before planting. Both already had at least one green shoot. After a few days I also planted some nasturtium seeds after learning about the so called feet in shade preference for clematis. Eventually i left only three of the several nasturtiums that sprouted. They have grown far more vigorously than the clematis as you can see from the pictures. The hf young had 3 to 4 shoots only one of which has grown to about 3 feet or so. Others are 1 to 3 feet and none are very vigorous. The ville de lyon is only 1 shoot about 4 feet. I could not bring myself to pinching it. :( Hf young now has 3 to 4 bud and just got its first bloom. There are none yet in the other. Initially I was not worried as I read that it is best to let the root system develop rather than encourage growth of foliage and blooms. But then i read somewhere that the whole shady feet thing is bogus (they just need to have moisture for the shallow roots) and planting anything at the feet will only lead to competition for food by those additional plants. So, the question is should i pull out the nasturtium. I have dozens elsewhere so I don't particularly care for them except that these are the biggest but with the least blooms. Obviously they are getting too much food for their own good. Will pulling them out disturb the clematis? I don't want to cut off (kill or maim) the nasturtium unless I have to. I have found that they are ok with transplants as long as they have some roots. Or is it that the clematis are just fine and wouldn't have been any better off without the nasturtium competition. I am new to clematis so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This message was edited Jun 23, 2017 3:24 PM

Okay, my two cents.
First, welcome to the website. I hope you find it educational. I'm curious, how did you find it?

Second, your clematis was "Plugs". For you to have as many shoots as you do, I salute you. Although, you do have two clematis that are quite hardy. I have both of them. I especially like HF Young. It's really beautiful and for me, very healthy.
The nasturtiums are simply adding beauty to your pots. I wouldn't pull them out.
I'm not sure I would cut the clematis back this season. I think I'd let them grow and feed the roots with the leaves/vines they have. Next year, I would cut them back so they can spread out a little more, e.g. where you cut it will give two shoots etc.

Everything looks very healthy, and I think you are doing everything you need to be doing. Just take a breath and enjoy your flowers.!

Thanks birder17. Regarding the site, I just moved to my current place last November and have a ~15X5 balcony after five years of being without one. So I as soon as I settled in it was time to get my balcony garden going. Every time I would research one of my perennial/annual objects of desire, I would get this site among 4-5 other reliable ones (another one being Houzz). I finally bit the bullet and registered yesterday so I could participate in the forum.
Looks like you are pretty experienced with clematis so I am going to follow your advice and leave things as is. I agree, I was already thinking of not cutting back this year at all. The ville de lyon is yet to set buds but I am hoping it does give me a few blooms this year. Keeping my fingers crossed. I will post a few pics from my now up and coming container garden as a thank you note. :)

I consider you lucky to get any blooms this year!
Would love to see pictures of your clematis whenever.

Ended up posting pics of the balcony in an album in the garden showcase http://davesgarden.com/showcase/album/view/7568641
The clematis has just this one bloom (still getting larger at this point) but there are at least 3-4 more buds on the HF Young. There appears to be bud like growth on the Ville de Lyon but it is too early to tell. Keeping my fingers crossed. .Will post more.

Enjoyed browsing your pictures. Everything looks so healthy and happy.

Well, the roses keep having one problem or the other. Posting a new thread on that.

More pics of the clematis. More flowers on hf young. The ville de lyon has about a dozen buds but no flowers yet. Waiting for the blooms.