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Is my clematis ill?

HumbleBeeHumbleBee Posts: 105
in Plants
Hi All
This is my evergreen clematis "Winter Beauty" which I planted in spring of this year. It has looked lush and lovely all the way through the summer in spite of the relentless heat, but a lot of the leaves have now started developing this purple veining. Is this just normal for this time of year or is something wrong with it? During the whole of the hot spell it's been watered well and I have given it a bit of feed a couple of times over the summer, but otherwise just left it to do its thing. Hopefully it's not an early sign of clematis wilt??  :/
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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    All the smaller leaves look healthy to me so I suspect it's just the older leaves reaching the end of their lives.  Even evergreens shed and renew their foliage, just not all at once.   

    Clematis wilt usually affects the early, large flowered group 2s and looks different.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Valley GardenerValley Gardener Posts: 2,851
    Is that why my Daniel Deronda has second flowered,but suddenly all the flowers dropped down like wet washing? Is this Wilt? If so does it kill the plant right off or will it be ok next year?
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I was given a Daniel Deronda by a late and much missed friend. It has been a wimp and a wuss from the start. For five years I have nurtured it and given it every care and encouragement imaginable ... this year I have given up hoiked it out and planted a Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’ which has done better in the last three months than DD ever did. 🙂

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It fared poorly here too Dove. didn't perform, and didn't manage a 2nd winter, so I took the opportunity to bin it and plant something else.
    I don't think there's really anything wrong with that first clematis either. No plant of any kind - shrub, perennial, tree or climber, has perfect foliage all the time.
    Is it in a pot Humblebee? It's possibly just run out of nutrients a bit. Difficult to keep them well enough watered too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • HumbleBeeHumbleBee Posts: 105
    edited August 2018
    Many thanks all for the feedback - phew hopefully you're right Obelixx it may just be the older leaves as there is no sign of wilting as such. I think I just panicked as I read somewhere that purple veining was one of the first signs of wilt and I have previously lost a Group 2 to this.

    And no Fairygirl it's not in a pot - it has what (in theory) should be perfect conditions in the ground (buried deep, feet in shade) but it could very well be a lack of nutrients (it's looking a bit on the pale side generally). Even though I have fed it a couple of times since planting it, it has had almost daily watering because of the heat and it may just have washed out any nutrients completely!   
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Stop watering as over watering can lead to phytopthera infections in the evergreen clematis.  Try giving it a feed of bonemeal to strengthen it but no nitrogen as this will encourage soft growth that won't have time to mature before the frosts.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • HumbleBeeHumbleBee Posts: 105
    oh eek I hope I haven't got any of that...! :s  I'll go and get myself some bonemeal - thanks for the tip!
  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    On tip for clematis is to keep the roots cool by putting a flat stone(s) near the base
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    That's a myth and makes a handy hideaway for slugs that will munch stems and fresh foliage in spring.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Obelixx said:
    That's a myth and makes a handy hideaway for slugs that will munch stems and fresh foliage in spring.
    Couldn't agree more. Just mulch with something suitable. 

    I just wondered if it was in a pot H.Bee - as the dark grey bit looked like an 'edge' -down at the bottom of the 2nd pic. Can be difficult without seeing the whole plant.
    If it's a young/new plant, it can take a while for them to get established, and in extreme weather, they save themselves a bit by dropping foliage,  not producing, or producing fewer, flowers etc . Lots of plants will be doing the same this year. I'm sure it'll be fine, and hopefully next year it'll behave more normally!  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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