It should come back from the roots. Every year rabbits, deer, or chipmunks bite the stem off close to the base of some of my clematis. They always come back.

If your Rooguchi has only one stem coming from the roots it should be pruned to force other stems from the roots. Think of your weeding mistake as pruning.

Roguchi was the one clematis I intentionally killed and got rid of. I got so sick of the powdery mildew every year. I tried it in multiple locations. Why suffer when there are so many others needing homes? Did yours get PM? If it doesn't come back (which it probably will), consider it an opportunity for a new variety.

they are not grafted.. so there is no reason it should not come true from the roots ... all other plagues being equal ...

mark the spot clearly ... so we dont have any reruns.. when and if it comes back in a month or two ...

ken

ps: ever move something in fall.. only to rip it out the next spring.. because you have no clue what that giant weed is in that spot.. only to realize a month later.. where is that thing i moved last fall???? .. ahhh .. one of lifes mysteries ... lol

Don't give up on it, one year our dobie chewed off one of my clemies right at ground level. It came back gangbusters but it took a few months.

Annette

All Clematis benefit from hard pruning. It will come back and bloom for you this year.

I think as dirt-diggers we do have those *Trowel & Error* moments & we very sadly apologize to them ~ some forgive us & return & other leave us for always no matter how we lament & even figuratively *kick ourself* (we get enough scars anyway). My moments were many but it's all part of the fun & challenge!
I've lost my *President*, Cnt'ss Bouchard w/ a wacker & Bees Jub by accidental pulling but have 7 now that survived different ordeals from many different invaders & assaults!!!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed yours will return!!!

Agreed. It will come back better than ever.

WENNNNDYYYYY!!!!!! did you just hear my gasp? oh nooo!!! puhleeze say it isn't so. i would have been so happy to have your roogichi. At least I have adored mine for 6+ years. LOVE it. It never had PM; never even seen PM on a clem actually (but we only have 30 or so). Mine is in pretty good amount of shade; bet it would bloom much better if in more sun.....

Thanks so much for all the helpful info, youall. I do have quite a few clems w/ only one puny stem emerging from their roots; plse advise me as to when to prune this to cause more stems as you have suggested.First thing when they come up in spring? after bloom?later? Thanks much again.
mindy

Mindy,
You can start pruning Clematis in March in your zone. Then, pinch each shoot about 1" above the leave node. Each node will produce two new shoots after this. Pinch them too. I do this at least 2-3 times in spring to all my Clematis that are less than 3 years old.
Also, when you plant a new Clematis, the crown should be 3-4" below the ground. This also will promote multiple vines formation. And help your Clematis survive if anything will happen to its top growth :)

You can cut back/prune/pinch your Clematis at any time during growth season to improve its shape.

alina, so that sounds like just what i do w/ coleus. That's such great advice. Given that now is june, do you think i should do this pinching back now? Maybe for the newer ones that are only 12" or less now?And- do you fertilize at particular times(after pinching?) and with what?

And ken, i laughed hard at your reference to spring mistakes. we are always, in fall, hurriedly planting things in the ground in any old empty spot and if the plants don't have tags or stakes, it can be a dangerous situation come spring.Equivalent to the hawk swooping down for the sparrow, but, in this case, it's me and the plant, and it's unintended! btw ken would you check the conifers thread and look for my post?

best,
mindy

I do it all the time during growth season if I have a leggy vine on one of my Clematis. I fertilize with Rose-tone or Tomato-tone fertilizers (organic) at the time of pruning or just mulch with compost.

You can also get another blooming on your Clematis if you prune it back after the first blooming and fertilize. Works for all type II and type III Clematis if they bloom on new wood.

I get PM on all of my type III Clematis every year so far since I've been growing IIIs. Never a problem with IIs and Is. I've been told by local Clematis guru that Rooguchi is the worst so I haven't tried it at all. Can't even find it for sale here.

I have a Snow Queen that was getting leaves at the top of the vines and none at the bottom, so I cut off all of the vines to the ground. It's now growing back in nicely. It is a young one and had only a few vines to begin with, so I was aiming for it to regrow some nice new ones from the ground, and hopefully put out more vines. Didn't really put out more vines but the new ones look much nicer than the old scraggly ones.

My point, like the others have said, yes, it'll come back.

Karen

Just for clarification, 'Rooguchi' is considered a non-vining, herbaceous type of clematis. Like other selections in the integrifolia group, it is often grown as a sprawling groundcover or to scramble through low lying shrubs. Getting it to 'climb' involves human intervention as it does not produce the twining petioles of other types of vining clematis that are natural climbing tools. These types of clematis, while usually grouped with pruning group 3 (hard prune), actually have their own pruning guidelines, which typically include cleaning back the plant to the ground in fall or early spring, much like one would do with other herbaceous perennials. This routine cutting back each season typically results in multiple growing stems from the rootcrown, rather than a single woody stalk. Pinching back is usually unnecessary on these types and really doesn't achieve much.

FWIW, having grown dozens of various types of clematis over the years as well as selling them on behalf of a very large wholesale grower of these plants, IME it is nearly impossible to kill an established clematis by improper or hard pruning, regardless of the time of year it happens. The exception may be those very old woody 'trunked' vines that will still tolerate a reasonably hard prune.....just not as severe as to ground level :-)

Local Clematis author Linda Buetler recently stated in a talk on Clematis: "Clematis don't read, they don't know what pruning group they are in, they can't be killed by pruning, pruning helps them instead of hurts them"

gg, can you see me nodding vigorously across the divide? You conTINue to amaze me with your articulate lessons. WHY are you not writing for the world at large? PLEASE at least do it when you retire, but if that is too far off
(tomorrow), then START SELLING YOUR TALENTS to the publishers. Idea: go through your pc files, pull up questions and answers like this one and submit a few to your local newspaper or the few gdng magazines. PITCH yourself, woman.The gardening world at large- needs you.

one of your MANY fans,
mindy
www.cottonarboretum.com/

Hello all. I need some jr guidance here. Bare with me as I tell my initiation story. About 2 wks ago, I bought a clematis on sale for $1.99. It was about 8" high with leaves at the tip and looked pretty healthy (I thought, WOW, what a good investment and I grabbed the last one on the shelf - lol). It was in a plastic bag inside a box. When I got home and unwrapped it, I found it also had a nice set of 6-7 healthy leaves at the base of its v. fragile stem with the leaves at the tip that caused it to occasionally lean over. (I can not tell from the box what type of Clematis it is. It just says 'Everblooming Blue' and 'Daring Adventurers' on the box, which I just assume is a description, not a type.) I decided I better not plant it outside yet, since it was so fragile. I thought I would keep it indoors for the winter and plant it in the spring.

After ~ 3-4 days, I saw a bit of white mold so I decided I would re-pot it intomy good soil and a bigger pot. I had no idea how long it was in that tiny 1" store pot and what the roots looked like. Oh no, yes, by now the tiny thin stem was no longer leaning over, it had bent over grande, irregardless of all my effort & time to secure it to a chopstick. Humm...So I sadly cut it down to the healthy leaves. I rinsed the roots carefully, but when I was removing some black gook, I accidentally cut off all the remaining healthy leaves too. (I have no idea how I did that.) Fortunately, I learned by pictures that it does have a nice, strong root system. I planted my blob of roots into my new clean soil mix (peat and organic manure with a bit of worm castings) 1/4" below the soil. (I read that this was what I should do.) It is now in a 4" pot in my living room. Is there any hope for it since it didn't have time to get established outside? Should I put it back in the baggy? Put it in the ground? Or just wait it out? Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you. Signing off , Goofy.