No, it isn't dead. Older stems do turn brown and hard.

Hi Maja,
I'd be happy to share what little I know,
Do you have the name of the plant? If not, was there a picture of the flower itself, try to explain it in detail, color petalshape etc
Depending on what type it is, there are 3, you should/ should NOT prune it so it is rather important for the future,
I also would like to know how large the pot is it came in,
Anything up to a gallon need some extra nursing this season , you also need to make sure the rootsystem is protected from competion from other plants, especially if it is small.
You see the roots is what it is ALL about, the vine needs to amass a big ball to be able to support the blooming, also, clemmies are in general heavy feeders, any blooming fertlizer would work well but I am partial to common cowmanure you can find at loews, homedepot etc..
You should lay a inch thick layer on top of the surface at least 2 times in the summer, now is a good time before it tries to set buds, it needs it to set buds in fact.
Furthermore, I would suggest you keep pinching down any new soft green growth down to a pair of leaves, meaning were you can see tiny sprouts.
I PROMISE you success if you do this, also some clemmies are very sensitve to wilt, & one of the fastest ways to get is to water the FOLIAGE, always water at the bottom, you can still get it in real wet humid conditions & when it happens , you must cut back infected growth as it spreads like wildfire to other plants in the yard, not only clemmies..
The good thing with cutting it down is that it is going to come back even more aggressive.
The brown woody vine needs to be left alone, unless there are broken part on it, if so, cut it down to healhty un corrupted stem.
On type 1 plants, who blooms on OLD wood, these woody stems are going to give you blooms NEXT year.
But I must say, if you only have one stem coming up, I think the rootsystem is focusing in gaining, on with the manure girl!
Make sure none of the manure touches the plant itself,
If you can lay it down on top of the soil without actually breaking it,pin it down gently & it will sprout MORE stems.
If this is a small plant, you are going to get buds this summer but I say the sooner you help it grow more roots, the more spectacular show youll get.
tell me, is the foliage itself jagged along the edges or does it curve gently?
I am really hoping your gift is not one of the finnicky ones as I have seen it over & over again driving people away from the species,
such a pity as it truly lives up to its name, queen of vines. when moving it , you need to take exceptional care t the roots, NOT the vines, a broken vines is going to put forth at least 2 new ones as long as it is healthy wereas a damaged rootsystem you are not going to get any vines.
The are very very fragile, thickish, long & yellowish, impossible to miss.
If you repot it, make a moundin the hole were you rest the crown of the rootball & spread the long roots downwards, in a sloping manner from the little hill you packed.
make sure you set the bottom of the above growth vine a couple of inches below the original potting surface, as I explained before, this will ensure more vines coming up, especially important if it is indeed prone to wilt..
Also, keep in mind, clemmies take leap years every now & then, I currently have almost 10 of them doing just that, the soil surface is completely unbroken by new growth, it looks by all means as it is dead. it is NOT.
yeah you know it, it is growing a rootsystem! ~ unless my dimwit aunt got a hold of it...sigh..
Kind regards Kerstin & good luck!

No matter what Clematis it is, it should be hard pruned next spring and possibly the following spring as well to get it off to the best start.

The older more established stems on clematis do become woody and brown looking. The new growth is green until it hardens off if indeed it does at all depending on the length of your growing season.

I agree with BorS. All clematis benefit from being cut back the first year or so after being planted in the ground.

Thanks for the info...I feel better now!
The label says: Clematis..The Boulevard Collection.
Description: Papery Flowers.
That's about all I can tell you as far as the type of Clematis it is.
I didn't fertilize yet...so I'm thinking it would be a good idea to?