I would plant them now, becasue I also hate to wait till year two for blooms and Im not great at fall planting. I get so caught up with leaves, and I don't like the cold. I do have one that lives in a plastic pot 12" deep, 18" diameter all year every year for probably 8 years (becasue I didn't have a spot for it..) and every year it blooms up my back porch railing.. so pots are fine, but its no where near as beautiful as its "litter-mates" lol that did get garden spots. Whereever you decide to put it, leave it there till the fall for the best chance to bloom this year, in other words, if you put it in a pot, don't transplant into the ground until fall- you can move the pot all you want, lol.
Just remember, as my grandmother used to say- head in the sun feet in the shade- she had the most stunning clematis ever, growing all over the place, but she always planted it on the north or east side, right next to the corner of whatever it was going to grow up, and mulched them high and religiously. I've noticed mine do best this way too. They'll turn the corner and come toward the sun up whatever latice you supply, but they do seem to like cool feet.
