It's quite odd that your "Polish Spirit" would only have one vine after that many years!! Mine is 3 years old now and shot up about 30 vines from the soil..it's a very vigorous thug in my gardens...It is of the hard pruning group 3 and should be hard pruned each late winter/early spring for it blooms on the current years vines...prune it even with the soil if it appears dead to you and fertilize with some rose or tomato fertilizer and it should send up new vines..it most probably isn't dead..they are very hearty...Jeanne

Ditto to what Jeanne said. Have you been treating it as a type III since you planted it and did you plant it several inches deeper in the ground than it was in its pot? Polish Spirit has always been one of my most vigorous clematis. Also, have you kept it well watered and fertilized with a low nitrogen fertilizer?

Don't rip it out. Cut it back and fertilize it and keep it well watered.