both,

How awful! I know the feeling. Part of my Henryi dies every year and I always thought it was wilt but found out it was from moles fiddling w/the rootball. Between the deer eating every plant on my property or the moles tunneling around the yard, I know frustration and heartbreak. I am new to clematis gardening but do you think your clem would have enough time to grow and bloom before the frost comes? I am assuming you cut it down to the ground and burned the wilted foliage. I have heard SAC is such a hardy, fast-growing clematis.

suebot in CT

Please forgive a newbie to clematis asking what is obvious to everyone else, but what does SAC stand for?

Sweet Autumn Clematis, very popular variety.