What is wrong with my Clematis?
missbloom
Posts: 4
Hi everyone, first time gardener here! I'm hoping that someone can help me figure out what has happened to my newly planted Clematis 'The President'. I planted it only 2 weeks ago in a large container on my patio, it only gets a couple of hours of early morning sun at the base, a few more hours at the top, planted in John Innes no3 with added slow release multipurpose fertiliser and a thick layer of gravel at the base in the container which is also resting on gravel so surely has good drainage. I also applied a layer of bark chipping as mulch. Haven't applied any liquid fertiliser yet. It looked healthy when first planted, however hasn't grown at all in the 2 weeks since planting and all of the leaves slowly started to develop brown colouring around the outside which has now developed further towards the centre of every leaf. Some leaves at the top have started to shrivel. I should also point out that I have a Clematis 'Samaritan Jo' planted in an identical container right next to it in the exact same conditions and it is thriving. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Is it Clematis wilt? From everything I've read online clematis wilt seems to happen rapidly though and this has been very slow and gradual. The discolouration is also brown rather than black. The stems are also a reddish brown colour but have been since I bought it.
The first photo is immediately after planting and the others are now.
Please help! 
Posts
I'd have potted that on instead of putting it into a big container with a load of other plants right away. It's a very young plant, and it may have been grown in protected conditions and is unable to cope with it's new surroundings.
It could also be slug damage as they're quite vulnerable to that when young, or when new growth starts. I also wonder if there's too much nutrition and moisture in the soil mix? If the growing medium is too rich at that early stage, you get weaker growth which the root system can't support as it's too immature. Also - make sure you haven't got wet soil and mulch right up against those slim stems, as that can cause a bit of rot.
Take a look at the stems low down and see if they're broken. If they are, cut the stems back to reasonable joint and keep an eye out for slugs - remove them each night or use a barrier method to control them.
Did you plant it deeper than it was in the pot? That's beneficial to enable plenty of root and stem growth.
That's a few suggestions to be going on with!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Should have added that the grit or gravel is better mixed in to the soil mix. Although clems like moisture, there has to be decent driaiage. You can still have crocks or gravel at the bottom too.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks Fairygirl!
The garden centre I bought it from sold it to me as one that was at least 2 years old (and I had no idea what I look for at the time) although now I can see he was clearly wrong! On that basis I used the John Innes no3 for mature plants but I'm guessing that was wrong.
I investigated all of your suggestions, there was no sign of slug damage, the stems didn't appear broken anywhere and I made sure I planted it 5-8cm below the surface so that wasnt the issue. As you said drainage might have been a problem as I didn't mix any grit into the soil (will remember to do that next time, thank you).
I went out and had another look at it yesterday and all the leaves above the surface had gone completely brown and crispy however there were one or 2 still green below the mulch. I ended up cutting the stems right down to these green leaves which is only a couple of cms above soil level anyway. Interestingly the inside of the stems were bright green when cut!
Do you think I should leave it as it is now and see if anything new shoots up or dig it up and replace it with a more mature Clematis? I only have a very small garden in a new build house so really the plants I do have space for I ideally would like to have some colour right away - even if this does shoot up again is it likely it will need a couple of years to form buds?
Thanks in advance!
I'm no expert, but I've had something similar happen more than once. I have no idea why but I put it down to shock and/or the plant deciding to concentrate on putting roots down. However, the plant does come back. It may not be until next year, but it does. it's probably testament to my appalling gardening skills but many things I buy at the garden centre then plant or pot on seem to spend the first year looking miserable, appearing to die, or just sit there doing nothing. But most come back perfectly fine. I bought a clematis last year that did the same as yours but this year it's been glorious.
Not clematis wilt definitely. It looks to me as though it has been given too much nitrogen feed, stop feeding, give it plenty of water daily.
I'm not sure I have your patience to wait for it to come back but at least I know there is hope!
Thanks Rob
Thanks Richard. Good to know it's not Clematis Wilt. I've cut it right down to the soil now as every leaf had turned brown and crispy so presumed it was dead but the inside of the stems were green when I cut it. I haven't applied any feed to it since it's been planted, I only used John Innes no3 (as I was told it was at least 2 years old at the garden centre) and mixed in the right amount of Miracle Grow slow release multi purpose fertiliser. Hadn't got round to applying anything else as it hadn't had enough time to settle. Been checking the soil moisture every day and has only needed watering ever other day so far.
Richard is a professional clematis grower with his own nursery. Take his advice.