My Clematis are WILTING in the Sun !

maximus2015

10 years ago

My Clematis are Wilting in the Sun. Today it is 82-degrees and full sun. Is this normal ? I thought Clematis were supposed to be grown in Full Sun. I'm massively confused here. I can't believe my Clematis are Wilting, drooped and hanging.

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NHBabs z4b-5a NH

10 years ago

"All of my Clematis are newly planted, young plants"

You've diagnosed the issue yourself! Expecting newly planted plants to thrive without any mitigation is expecting a lot since their roots are small yet and they will be more hot in a container than in the ground, and if there is reflection from a building or they are surrounded by paving, that adds still more heat. Can you move them to where they will get some afternoon shade on particularly hot days until they get their feet under them?

Or you can prune them back to 3 sets of leaves or so per stem. That will encourage them to branch out more and they will look more full and the roots and leaves will be more balanced.

Since they are in containers, did you plant in normal potting soil or did you give them a mix designed for plants that will be remaining in their containers long-term? Regular potting mix tends to be too fine for long-term growing and good drainage. It's fine for starting plants or often even for a full season of annuals, but over the time will become too compact for your clematis.

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Comments (6)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
It may be more of an issue than just sun. Have you watered recently? What is the soil moisture level like? And do you have anything shading the root system?

FWIW, it was 93F here yesterday (broke a record!) and my clems - in containers - in full sun did not flinch.
maximus2015
Original Author
10 years ago
No - I have not watered in over a week. The top of the soil in all pots is still moist. They are all planted in "Weather-Resistant" Urns and containers, so there is nothing shading the roots .

It is only the "tips" of the plants that are wilting and drooping. Below that the plants are all doing fine.

All of my Clematis are newly planted, young plants. They are not 3-year old well established plants and they are not in the ground (except for 4 of the 18).
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maximus2015
Original Author
10 years ago
Over half of my Clematis in containers get afternoon shade - they only get morning sun up until around 11:30-12:00 Noon. The potting soil was 'amended' with alfalfa meal and compost. I spent a lot of time reading and watching YouTube videos regarding potting of Clematis from various Clematis Nurseries around the world. Once the clematis were in the shade in the afternoon, they perked up and were not drooping - Yesterday's Temp here was 85 and HOT from 10AM on, so I'm not surprised the poor Clematis were wilting, I was too . . .
Sigrid
10 years ago
Water, water, water.

And, OMG, am I jealous. It's 51 degrees here. How I'd love to wilt in the heat!
maximus2015
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
LOL, Oh no you would not. It's not even Summer yet. My plants are very unhappy, and All of my Clematis are outdoors of course in this heat, from 10AM on. I almost want to bring them all indoors ....:(