I uploaded the photo to the garden gallery under Bugs & Butterflies. The pic of the nodules is a little blurry and has my fingers behind it.

Julie, to upload a picture to this forum, you will need an account to an online photo hosting site such as Photobucket. It appears from your post above that you are trying to link from your hard drive which luckily won't work. If it did, then anyone could hack into your computer and steal any info you have stored there.

As for your nematode issues, can't offer any help since luckily I have never had the issue. The only nematodes that I have encountered were beneficial nematodes that I purchased and introduced to help drive down the incidence of various pests in the garden. Perhaps you need to take the plant to your local Agricultural Extension Agency to have them confirm that you have an issue since you may have been given information that is not correct. Sorry I can't offer any more help than this.

I just might dig it out of the trash and find a local county extension service like you suggest. If it is nematodes, I'd like it if someone can experiment on it and find a way to eradicate them. Thanks for your suggestion.

Julie, I couldn't find your photo but I suspect the info you received from your friend IS correct. If the nodules are that obvious, that's really the only thing it could be. Root knot nematodes are not all that common with clematis - I've only seen them once - but the plants are susceptible to them and it's a pretty serious issue if you discover them.

Removal and disposing of the plant is necessary. Whether you take it to your extension office for diagnosis is up to you - it won't hurt - but do not replant or compost. It must be destroyed. Unfortunately, you have risked spreading the problem by initially replanting it a different location. If you locate a plant displaying these symptoms again, trash it immediately and avoid spreading the contaminated soil anywhere else in the garden.

Root knot nematodes are particularly difficult to control or eradicate. Fumigation, solarization or allowing the area to remain fallow for a couple of seasons are methods suggested. It might be helpful to Google "root knot nematodes" and review the literature to see what risk your other plantings may be exposed to, what control methods are recommended and what might work best for you. Don't be distracted or put off by associations of other plant types with these creatures - they are all very similar and act the same way and are treated similarly.

This is a nasty problem. Good luck.