Cindy, perhaps the original potting medium was one with water absorbing crystals or some additive that helps hold moisture in the soil. In light of all the rain you have had, I would only water the plant when it needed it. Push your finger into the soil and see if it needs water. You might be able to look in the bottom drain holes and see if the soil at the bottom is moist. Do not water it if there is still moisture in the soil. Overwatering can occur in pots although some people might have a hard time believing so. Make sure the plant gets adequate sun. I would hold off on fertilizing the plant since most nursery plants are fed with time released fertilizers and the plant is not going to need additional food until it starts actively growing.

Thanks so much-it is still wet-I will leave it be for now.
Cindy

I have Versailles also and it does get wilt. Mine was full of buds this spring and then wilted all the way back. I kept it watered and it is starting to regrow. I think this clematis is going to take some time and patience to get established.

I also purchased this clematis after warnings that it would get wilt. I got this plant in early May and cut it back. The remaining plant died back and I thought it was gone for sure. It appears the roots were growing however, because now my plant is starting to show some sprouts, quite a few more stems than what it had before. Like the previous poster said, I think we will need to be patient with this one.

I have bought 4 Patio Clematis this year. All of them tend to wilt to the ground. Maybe, the reason is the potting medium. It looks very sandy and unnatural. All my Patio babies slept for 3-4 weeks after getting wilt, then started to regrow.

Wow, I bought a Cezanne Patio Clematis a few years ago and it did well for the first summer, after that it wilted away and the soil in the container was a sand based soil.

Sounds like you might have something there regarding the sandy soil.

I got one at Lowes WITH wilt for $10. I pruned it all the way down to the ground (in the end of May) and it has since sent up about 15 shoots, with 2 or 3 doing much better than the rest, and is getting ready to bloom!! I took most of the soil mix that was in the original pot out b/c it looked like coarse sand!! I would just give it time, and it should rebound nicely!!

Thank you all for your responses-I have hope. Mine was also in a sandy soil mix, I left much of that in, I hope it will come back.

Cindy