Are you watering it enough?....Remember that clematis like to have their roots stay moist...Jeanne

Mine do that even when soaking wet from daily rain. I cut it off and eventually they seem to outgrow it.

I was having the same problem with my Henryi for years. Finally Jeanne from Texas figured out that my Henryi was too old to have wilt so after asking me a few questions she figured out that something was messing around with my roots. Sure enough it was those dastardly moles! This year no problem so far. Watch tonight I will go home and my Henryi will be drooping and black!

suebot in CT

Thanks to everyone who responded.I know my Henryii is getting enough water so that's not the problem. I did have a problem 2 years ago with a "critter eating the stems ( I discovered it just before my son's wedding,when all the guests were coming over to my house) but I created a substantial barrier and it seemed to have solved the problem.
Now this year random stems are wilting and I am getting frustrated.I have seen Clematis wilt on other Clematis (not mine) but my stems are not turning black and drying up.I am flummoxed!!!

Thistle, this is why I recommend the type IIIs. Although not immune to certain unknown issues, they do tend to be less troubled with them than the LFH type IIs.

I have Henryi, & reliable as lack of summer rain, various stems (near the top) turn black & die. (It started doing that this week.) The rest of the plant is fine. I think that's just the nature of Henryi. Prune it out & forget about it.

The first year....3 years ago when I planted by clematis "Henryi"..it wilted..I pruned it even with the soil..it grew back and I've not had a problem with it since...Jeanne

Moles are carnivores. They eat worms, grubs and bugs, not plants.

They might break stems going after them though.....

BorS, the way I remember the mole vs. vole distinction is that moles eat meat and voles are vegetarians!

BorS and nckvilledudes-

Thank you for clarifying the difference betweeen moles and voles. I do believe I have moles even though we use Grubex to kill the grubs. I think the moles just tunnel all around the bed that my Henryi is in and might disturb the roots. So far, no wilt this year! Should I fertilize my clemmies and roses now. I gave them Osomote (sic) that is supposed to feed for 3 months in early spring.

What do you think. All of my clemmies except Henryi are very young. This is the 2nd summer for all except Fireworks that isn't doing a thing for the past 3 years. It put out 2 blooms that never really opened and then one stem of the plant turned sickly looking, shriveled up and died. One stem is doing the beanstalk thing so maybe I should prune it down? What do you think?

Thank you,
suebot in CT

Sue, all you can do at this stage is fertilize them with an organic slow release fertilizer, mulch with an organic mulch that will break down and add to the soil's tilth, give them adequate moisture, and give them time. Pinching back a spindly clematis is something that can only help.