I'm in SE MA and am looking for some assistance with my clematis. I have four clematis between 2-5 years old which look great every year while blooming on a couple of lamp posts, but then always seem to dry out and wither beginning from the bottoms. They’re planted on the south side of the house and receive sun all day.

They're all Group 2 clematis. If I've identified them correctly: Miss Bateman & Elsa Spaeth on one lamp post and Piilu (Little Duckling) & Gillian Blades on the other. They were all planted in different years (I wasn't aware that they wouldn't all bloom at the same time). I also wasn't aware that they should be pruned until recently. So they've never been pruned. Yep - newbie!

Two questions (photos attached - while in bloom and what they looked like today):

Is the problem clematis wilt or something else? (Are they getting too hot? Do they need more water? )

Should I cut them all of them back to the ground now due to their current condition? Or leave them alone or try to remove the dead bits and prune them in early spring?

The earlier blooming Miss Bateman/Elsa Spaeth seem to be drier than the later blooming Piilu/Gillian Blades. Is this drying up just what they do after blooming? I’ve been unable to find an definitive answers online.

P.S. Third question - what can I do about their bare legs? Is this due to lack of pruning? I planted additional plants to try to increase the bushiness at pole bottoms, but to no avail. Any thoughts are appreciated!