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Clematis passion flower
shelleyctaylor
Posts: 14
Does anyone know what might have happened to my clematis? Planted 3 weeks ago and doing fine initially. Watered Fri eve and wilted by Saturday morning. It’s now Monday and not looking any better. Any tips on what to do next? 
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Whichever it is, it would seem to have a bit of competition from the surrounding planting.
As it is only young and newly planted, it will need time to establish a root system. If you purchased it from an indoor space and then planted straight outside, it will have had a bit of a shock. The hot dry weather recently won't have helped either.
Clematis tend to prefer their roots in the shade if that is any help ?
If it's a young plant [ it looks immature] and is one of the larger flowered types [which it appears to be from the foliage] then it will need plenty of water, and time to establish. Make sure when you water, that you do it thoroughly every few days - not a trickle every day, as that does more harm than good. Deep watering means the roots will get deep into the soil, and the plant can then withstand drier spells in future. They need a deep, cool root run.
Ideally, they also benefit from being planted a little deeper than they are in the pot. You can get round that by adding more compost as a mulch round the base. That encourages more shoots from below ground, and gives you a better plant. It also needs the plastic ties on the stems removed, and the stems tied in with soft string to the cane/support. Those ties are only there for the purpose of transporting and selling the plants.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
You need to water down at the base of plants, ideally after sun has gone, but as long as it's not over the plant foliage.
A clematis which is a couple of years old or more, would need about 5 or 6 litres of water every few days [an average watering can full]. A younger plant probably wouldn't need as much, but it's a judgment based on your soil conditions, and how much other planting there is, so it's not a hard and fast rule.
It's also a judgement call as to whether it would be better potted up and grown on for a while. Anything bought in a supermarket or similar outlet tends to be a young plant, and they generally benefit from being grown on for another year in a deeper pot before planting out. Bought from a recognised clematis supplier, or a good G. Centre/nursery, you would have a mature plant of at least two years old, which can be planted straight into the ground.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It may have needed hardening off before planting. Was it inside or outside at the garden centre? Have there been any slugs or snails? Passion flowers, depending which ones, can be sensitive to changes of temperature.
Looking at the photo again, the leaves, tho very droopy, resemble a Passiflora rather than a Clematis as do the couple of flower buds showing.
Same treatment more or less still applies for a young, newly purchased/planted specimen.
If it is the basic P Cerulea, it will usually take off like a monster so @shelleyctaylor could perhaps enquire at the GC from which it was purchased. There are other P's which are nicer than the basic one tho not always as hardy. If the flowers open, it may be easier to ID.
Now that the pic is turned, I'd agree the foliage looks more like a passion flower too though. I'm really struggling with all the photos which are sideways! Many passion flowers aren't hardy either. Not something I've ever grown as I dislike them, but most wouldn't survive here anyway. If you have the right conditions, they can get enormous, so I doubt your obelisk support will be adequate.
Yes - that's not a very good way to water plants I'm afraid. You need to water at the base - either with a hose laid down on the ground for a while to do sections of a border at a time, or have a seep hose installed, or stand with the hose at the base of plants for a while. You could get away with a sprinkler type system if you had it raised off the ground so that it's falling from above like rain would, and done when there's no sun.
A way of doing it is to shove a border fork into the ground somewhere nearby, and feed the hose through, fixing the hose handle in place in the fork handle. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's a simple way of doing it to save standing for ages.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...