Possible wilt - did I do a bad thing?

18 years ago

Hello! This will be my first full year with clematis, so bear with me; sorry this is so long!

I have a Niobe that I put in last October. Late, I know. However, she came up just fine this spring, and even bloomed once. After that, growth stalled, and then the leaves started turning brown. I gave it more water (don't want to over do it, as I have clay), but that didn't help. So, two days ago I decided to dig her up, for two reasons. I thought maybe I'd over-watered and she was drowning, or she was getting too much sun and was crisping (the spot gets several hours of full sun).

When I dug her up the dirt seemed to be at a nice moisture level, and I believe the roots looked good (kinda orange colored, but firm and with a wet white pith?) However, there weren't many new roots - I got her entire root ball pretty easily. So I potted her and moved her to dappled shade to recuperate.

Only then did I wander over here and do some reading....SIGH. It looks like she might have wilt, as I believe it started at the tips and worked its way down. She has very few leaves left, but her two stems are still alive.

I know the move has stressed her, but is there anything I can do now to help her out, other than wait and see if she recovers? I guess I should put her deeper in the pot so some nodes are buried. I assume I shouldn't fertilize such a stressed plant...should I cut off her leafless stems?

Thanks so much! I love this forum!

Lara

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Comments (5)

nckvilledudes
18 years ago
Cut off all stems where you suspect wilt and discard them. Keep the plant watered and fertilized and see if it recovers.

I don't think at this point in your growing zone that the issue is too much sun.
westgate
18 years ago
I seem to have clematis wilt, as well, on one I planted last year. Pruned it back this year, it did well, grew a lot, and now the leaves keep turning brown, even as new shoots grow higher up.... the wilt seems to follow them up the stem. What can I do? Is it contagious.... I have another really lovely clematis on the other side of the arch.
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lilgreenfrog
Original Author
18 years ago
So, after looking at Tracyvine's pics of wilt I felt kind of silly; my leaves on Niobe were browning and dying, but not actually wilting first. Now that the plant is officially dead, would it be safe to replant the spot with a replacement Niobe? Or could that have been some sort of soil-borne issue?

Thanks so much,
Lara
opheliathornvt zone 5
18 years ago
What makes you sure it is officially dead? I've had lots of clematis that I think are dead for sure start to grow again. I don't usually give up on a clematis until it's been a year since I saw it last, particularly if the roots looked OK. If they're rotted, OK, I wouldn't hold out much hope, but it sounds like these weren't. I would keep this one watered and hope for the best. They've just surprised me too many times in the past to give up so soon. Keep the faith!
tracyvine
18 years ago
Lara, I had received a very young Multi-Blue clem in a trade last year. It arrived healthy looking but with only 2 thin short vines coming from the crown, I planted it deeply and it put out some new leaves within 2 weeks or so and then turned dark brown, crispy and for all purposes looked completely dead. I thought I would wait and see what happens becuase sometimes the clems will go dormant with top growth and then work on establishing themselves instead. The next thing I knew it was putting out new growth from the roots. I pinched these back to keep it working on establishing itself. This spring I have many new vines from it and I am anxiously awaiting blooms. So don't yank it yet. Your roots sound healthy. I agree with Ophelia and please follow Nckvilledude's advice and keep her watered and fertilized. Some use rose fertilizer, I use compost or manure. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Tracy