I am not an expert by any means, but I think nothing fatal happened. I would go ahead and plant poor thing back. Trimming top growth will definitely help. Can you nurse it in a pot till fall? It would help to control moisture and nutrients. You might even get a bloom or two this summer. 3 out of 5 Clematis I bought last summer bloomed for me. They were in 2.5" pot when purchased, just tiny babies. I repotted them into 1+ Gallon pots at about this time and got my blooms by September.
I found Clematis cuttings extremely difficult to root, but since your 'Claire' already has roots, it should be fine. There is no warranty that your newly purchased Clematis will establish faster. IMHO.
Good luck!
Alina.

Definitely not an expert as far as rooting clematis go either. Some are a lot easier to root than others and I just don't have the patience for it. Since there is already the beginnings of a root on the end, I think if I were to try and rescue it I would stick it in water and see what happens and I would cut back some of the foliage as alina suggested. Worse case scenario--buy a new plant that is more robust to begin with and don't mess with the scraggly vine.

I would be curious to know who the reputed clematis specialist is you purchased the plant from. Email me if you don't want to post it publicly. I have an idea of whom it may have come from. If I had paid good money and got what you described, I would have contacted them and let them know the sad condition of the plant you received. Perhaps it was one that was sent out that should not have been and you might have gotten a replacement!

Thank both of you so much for your advice. Putting the whole thing in perspective...I've never had the patience to try rooting either, but these little mishaps are what transforms people who like messing with plants into real gardeners. Best to be forced into experimenting sometimes. I stuck it in a nursery bed this morning, and it looks just as good as new still.

I think I'll go ahead and just try to root the end, forget trying a cutting from the top. And then, order a new plant for insurance. I thought I was almost all done for the season, but this will give me a chance to order one of those "shame to waste shipping charges on just one item" bonus plants.

Nckvilledudes, I sent you an email on that vendor. Hate to besmirch someone's reputation on one incident. I did, however, contact them immediately upon the plant's arrival, and never received a reply. They aren't exactly known for great customer service....I try not to get too excited about these things since clems are so nearly indestructible.

Plant it at an angle, not straight up and down, burying at least 3" of the stem, I would then cut off the remaining stem to about 8". Fertilize and keep watered.

If it doesn't sprout out all over the place in a month, I'd buy another one.

Robinia, I never got the email. Not sure what happened. Here is my email address if you want to send the information again-- nckvilledudes@aol.com. I am sorry that the vendor refused to even answer your email. That adds insult to injury as far as I am concerned. I hope you left feedback on Garden Watchdog about this vendor. I for one think that such disregard for customers negates any hesitation I would have about posting information about the vendor online since I would hate to have others experience that type of lack of customer service.

Robinia,

I agree with Miguel - do tell!

Carolyn

Ok guys. It was Chalk Hill. In their defense, I only made one attempt to contact them. I left a message by phone with my phone number, saying there was a problem with my Claire de Lune and I wasn't sure it could be revived. I said I was just calling to inquire about their refund policy in case I needed to do that, but that I would give it a go first. I wasn't sure they would call me back, but when it says "leave a message" you kind of assume they will. Certainly a lot of small outfits will call you back.

Well, it came back, but not strong. When I finally planted it out, it didn't have very much of a root system, but it was good enough. If I hadn't plucked that top growth...

It is a somewhat complicated situation, IMO. I'm kind of ambivalent about complaining publicly because I do think Chalk Hill is a valuable resource. It was only my first order from them, so I would give them another chance on a hard-to-find cultivar. I didn't report on Garden Watchdog, but I was aware at the time I made my inquiry into their refund policy that there have been a number of people unhappy with their customer service.

On the other hand, I don't want to cheat everyone else by holding back. It might be good for them to consider that possibly it may be time to improve their customer service. And, honestly, that plant should never have been sent out. There was no question of mailing/heat stress, because the temps were still cool. I was getting a lot of plants in the mail at that time - all moist and healthy - including the other plant I received from them in the same order.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I'll keep you posted on what happens. Miguel, I was going to send you another email, but after Carolyn asked for the info, I felt obliged to just come out with it. BTW, do any of you grow CdL and feel it is a weak plant, or was it just my dud copy?

That's a question I'd like to hear the answer too since I just bought a Clair de lune a couple wks ago. Brandy

Don't grow it Robinia so can't offer any suggestions. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with Chalk Hill. Normally Murray responds to email and phone messages. I wonder if they somehow got erased?

Anyway, to be quite honest, I have been less than impressed the last two times I ordered from Chalk Hill. Not enough to complain or ask for a replacement, but enough to make me think twice about ordering from them if I could get it from Brushwood or Silver Star Vinery. The new longer containers are great but the last few clematis I ordered from them did not have root systems that came close to filling the pots. I question the need for such a long pot if the roots aren't going to be more substantial.

I ordered clems from Brushwood, Klem's and Joy Creek this past Spring. I have not ordered from Chalk Hill as of yet, but at this point I am hesitant. I would order from all 3 that I mentioned above again, with Joy Creek being the first one I would check with on any given selection first, as their plants were amazing this past Spring. The rootballs were huge!

Robinia/Miguel, I personally appreciate your forthrightness (is that a word?). I have not totally ruled out Chalk Hill as I know that everybody does have a bad day, but with such good service and wonderful plants that I received from the first 3 places that I mentioned, why would I go anywhere else?

Thank you.
Carolyn

Carolyn, glad to be of help. My experience with Joy Creek has not been wonderful either. I am not saying that the plants were sickly but again the root balls on the ones I got from them were less than adequate and much less in size than what I got from Brushwood or Silver Star Vinery. Also the price of the plants and the shipping charges were high. For the price and robustness of plants, Brushwood and Silver Star are my first two choices. I have heard that Klehm's plants are also large but the shipping charges are outrageous so they are not a place I have ordered clematis from although I have ordered peonies from them and they were relatively inexpensive to ship.