I have had this Rebecca clemaits for about 4 years it is west facing in a very sheltered spot, we have not had a flower this year but last night there were lots of promising new shoots and buds, we water it well daily and tonight it looks wilted and dying, all the new buds have wilted. It has always been in a terracotta pot. Could this be clematis wilt and shall I cut all the dead stems off along with the new young wilted buds.
We have always had a problem with this plant, it always goes like this every year, are we doing something wrong.
Hi Jo - what size is the pot? As the plant gets mature it needs a big enough pot to provide it with enough nutrition so make sure you aren't starving it by keeping it in too small a space. It will use up all the available nutrition very quickly - any plant in a pot needs extra care and clematis are very hungry plants. Each spring you need to improve the soil and compost in the pot by replacing some of it, add a slow release fertiliser to the compost plus some specialist clematis food or a high potash feed as growth speeds up to encourage buds and flowers.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi Viswalingham. It looks as if you still have the green cane tie around the bottom of your Rebecca holding all the stems still together. It might help if you cut that gently off and spread your stems outwards like a fan to separate them - the stems may be strangling each other. Would also be a good idea if you have some kind of wire attached horizontally to your fence so that the stems can be attached to so that it knows it has somewhere to go, reach out for and attach or be gently tied to.
As the others have said, you need to have something in front of it at ground level to keep the bottom few inches of the stems in the shade as they come out of the ground. It hates heat at the roots. And a good couple of cans of water might pep it up. It may be that the stems are too close to each other and winding around each other so I'd get the green plastic cane tie off and spread em out - but they need something to climb up and attach to. Once they reach the top of the cane there's nowhere for them to go.
The leaves are green and there are nice buds so I don't think it has wilt. I'm wondering if it is just strangling itself with all the stems together. Also wondering about the gravel around it - could dust from the gravel be leaching into the soil.
I bought Rebecca last year so mine is still young. I have it attached to quite a thin section of trellis nailed to the wall facing west. It's in a pot though and the pot is also inside an old wooden box which I used to use to stand plants on next to the back door. So the roots and first few inches of stem are kept cool and dark. Last year it was in full sun and hated it - but it was scarlet red. This year it has sun for half of the day and is more a claret colour. I give the pot a can of water every three or four days - depending on the weather. I don't want it sitting soaked, just kept moist. And until it bloomed I fed it just with liquid feed every couple of weeks. It's only it's second year so not a huge amount of blooms and the first are going over now. But I see some tiny budlets coming here and there so may get more.
Be brave. I made a mess planting mine last year in full sun and only had two flowers and that was it. I'd never done clematis before - and sometimes courage pays dividends. I'm sure you will solve your problem. Go for it.
I have a clematis Rebecca. I bought it last November off of the net. When it arrived it looked a bit weak, but I thought over the Winter it would pick up. Well it did not. It died back I have nurtured my plant and 3 times I have brought it to flower, then it withers and dies. It has now started to sprout again. I think I am going to bin it. I have grown a number of clematis successfully over the years and have one that is doing very well at the moment. I also grew this particular species when I lived in France and it was amazing, hence why I wanted to grow it again. Could there be a problem with this particular species
Has it got a 'teabag' round the roots? They are supposed to let water in and gradually degrade but they don't. If you're going to hoik it out, do it carefully and have a look.
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I have had this Rebecca clemaits for about 4 years it is west facing in a very sheltered spot, we have not had a flower this year but last night there were lots of promising new shoots and buds, we water it well daily and tonight it looks wilted and dying, all the new buds have wilted. It has always been in a terracotta pot. Could this be clematis wilt and shall I cut all the dead stems off along with the new young wilted buds.
We have always had a problem with this plant, it always goes like this every year, are we doing something wrong.
Hi Jo - what size is the pot? As the plant gets mature it needs a big enough pot to provide it with enough nutrition so make sure you aren't starving it by keeping it in too small a space. It will use up all the available nutrition very quickly - any plant in a pot needs extra care and clematis are very hungry plants. Each spring you need to improve the soil and compost in the pot by replacing some of it, add a slow release fertiliser to the compost plus some specialist clematis food or a high potash feed as growth speeds up to encourage buds and flowers.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi Viswalingham. It looks as if you still have the green cane tie around the bottom of your Rebecca holding all the stems still together. It might help if you cut that gently off and spread your stems outwards like a fan to separate them - the stems may be strangling each other. Would also be a good idea if you have some kind of wire attached horizontally to your fence so that the stems can be attached to so that it knows it has somewhere to go, reach out for and attach or be gently tied to.
As the others have said, you need to have something in front of it at ground level to keep the bottom few inches of the stems in the shade as they come out of the ground. It hates heat at the roots. And a good couple of cans of water might pep it up. It may be that the stems are too close to each other and winding around each other so I'd get the green plastic cane tie off and spread em out - but they need something to climb up and attach to. Once they reach the top of the cane there's nowhere for them to go.
The leaves are green and there are nice buds so I don't think it has wilt. I'm wondering if it is just strangling itself with all the stems together. Also wondering about the gravel around it - could dust from the gravel be leaching into the soil.
I bought Rebecca last year so mine is still young. I have it attached to quite a thin section of trellis nailed to the wall facing west. It's in a pot though and the pot is also inside an old wooden box which I used to use to stand plants on next to the back door. So the roots and first few inches of stem are kept cool and dark. Last year it was in full sun and hated it - but it was scarlet red. This year it has sun for half of the day and is more a claret colour. I give the pot a can of water every three or four days - depending on the weather. I don't want it sitting soaked, just kept moist. And until it bloomed I fed it just with liquid feed every couple of weeks. It's only it's second year so not a huge amount of blooms and the first are going over now. But I see some tiny budlets coming here and there so may get more.
Be brave. I made a mess planting mine last year in full sun and only had two flowers and that was it. I'd never done clematis before - and sometimes courage pays dividends. I'm sure you will solve your problem. Go for it.
Thank you Fairygirl I will take your advise on board.
I have a clematis Rebecca. I bought it last November off of the net. When it arrived it looked a bit weak, but I thought over the Winter it would pick up. Well it did not. It died back I have nurtured my plant and 3 times I have brought it to flower, then it withers and dies. It has now started to sprout again. I think I am going to bin it. I have grown a number of clematis successfully over the years and have one that is doing very well at the moment. I also grew this particular species when I lived in France and it was amazing, hence why I wanted to grow it again. Could there be a problem with this particular species
Has it got a 'teabag' round the roots? They are supposed to let water in and gradually degrade but they don't. If you're going to hoik it out, do it carefully and have a look.