My mature clematis Montana is showing no signs of life. Normally by now it would be getting ready to flower. Has it succumbed to the low winter temperatures or could it be something else?
They're extremely hardy, so no- it won't have succumbed, but it may be delayed in flowering due to colder weather as buds were about ready to open, or were forming. Or, any buds that were forming may have been affected and therefore won't now flower at all. All you can do is wait. If the foliage comes through but no flowers, that's what's most likely. Unless something else has happened in the way of damage to main stems/trunks, it should recover. Where you are is also a factor with climate and weather conditions.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
There was a thread about this recently. It's happened to a lot of us, including me. I looked at mine today and they are showing signs of growth near the bottom, both of them. Doubt there will be flowers this year. Must be the weather. I'm going to wait a bit and cut out all the dead when it's a bit clearer what is what.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thank you for your advice. I will leave it a bit longer. The idea of damaged buds sounds likely. I will see if it does send out new growth and maybe cut it back but not out!
I wouldn’t cut it back, the beauty of the Montana is its rambling habit. It seems a bit slow, depends on where you are in the country, everything here is about 3 weeks behind everyone else, but it has got buds and leaves now.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
A lot of my two are actually dead, dry and brittle, I will be cutting all that back when it's growing properly. It may be very hardy but they aren't used to the cold that we had this last winter, also the heat in the summer.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I think it’s probably the hot dry summer, our two are enormous, one goes right along the road, they’ve been here for 40 years that we know of, don’t about before that, but we used to get some very cold winters, very deep snow on the Moors, I’m sure they’ve had worse winters so I think it could have been the hot dry summer.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
They're incredibly hardy @Busy-Lizzie - far more likely to be the combination of dry then wet/freeze, although waterlogging is the worst for them. Unless they're just at the end of their lives. Would be odd if it was two though. No need to cut it back @maryjanemadders, as @Lyn says. It'll either grow away later, or it won't. Cutting back is only needed if they're getting too big for the space, or are really needing rejuvenating because growth and/or flowers are sparse.
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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Unless something else has happened in the way of damage to main stems/trunks, it should recover.
Where you are is also a factor with climate and weather conditions.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Unless they're just at the end of their lives. Would be odd if it was two though.
No need to cut it back @maryjanemadders, as @Lyn says. It'll either grow away later, or it won't. Cutting back is only needed if they're getting too big for the space, or are really needing rejuvenating because growth and/or flowers are sparse.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...