Weeds rob Clemmies of water and nutrients. Leaving weeds is possibly worse than yanking out a vine especially if your plants are that tiny that they come right out....

I need to do better mulching then . Now the plants roots aren't coming out , it's the vines . I plant them against my fence , but weeds creep in from the other side of the fence . So I'm trying to carefully yank them . The other side of the fence is farmland and the weeds are something else ! :)

It's a shame that clematis vines are so fragile and easily broken :(

Guilty here. I cringe when it happens.

Consider a buried edging between the garden and the farm field to help keep them out. Mazerolm's suggestion of newspaper (nonglossy) with mulch over it will help prevent seeds from sprouting and make any weeds easier to pull. I find that doing a really good job of weeding spring and fall when it is easier to see what I am doing helps. And slow down and trace stems when you are in the area of your Clem's. Weeding them will make them happier.

breaking a vine won't hurt them. Hard pruning helps them, especially when young.

Oh no! I hope she comes back for you...I think mine was over watered in rehab and lost for good :/. I'll be interested to see how she fares in other gardens before possibly replacing next year. I'm sick over it :(