Poorly clematis triternata rubromarginata
Jess is in the Garden
Posts: 1,022
I bought this lovely plant back in March, it was shooting and I cut it back, as advised to do, to encourage lots of new shoots to come out - which they did.
I planted it in at all, large pot - I know it should be in the ground (and hopefully it will be from this autumn when we hope to move house), but I was advised it would do ok in a pot too, so long as it was for only a season and I kept it very well watered and fed.
Which I have done!
I have grown many clematis in my little garden here in London, always pretty successfully, so I am stumped as to why this beauty, which was lush and glorious, with plenty of new shoots and stems, started to wilt away a couple of weeks back.
The soil is new, drainage is good, t has a pot tray, I fed it Vitax when I planted it, it has never dried out. It was thriving then suddenly started to di back, very slowly, one branch at a time.
There are no pests anywhere to be seen (I have seen clematis wilt before and it isn't this). No fungus either. No vine weevil (soil is brand new).
There are only two good stems left and even these are starting to show signs of unhappiness.
Any ideas you clematis experts out there? I'd hate to lose it :-
Sorry about the multiple images - this site always does that to me these days, even though I only downloaded it once!(
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Hi Jess. Is it in the sun by any chance? Clematis like their heads in the sun and their roots in the shade.
Hi,
Yes, it likes full sun apparently - but there has been little of that lately in London! And it's only west north west facing, so doesn't get more than about 4 hours even on a good day.
I've put some small geraniums at its base to create shade. Wondering what else I could do whilst they grow large enough to shade the base...
It is certainly not a happy plant.
Were the shoots you cut off wrinkled and brown. That would look like clematis wilt.
The pot does not look very big for a vigorous plant.
Is the pot too near the fence which might be shading off any rain you might have had?
Could the white fence be reflecting off too much sun and making the clematis too hot?
Just a few ideas that came to mind, a few thoughts to consider.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
Would some sun at the base cause the stems to actually die off?
If the sun warmed up the plant pot then it would certainly overheat the roots leading to the plant suffering. I am guessing the pot is plastic and not terracotta.
Thanks both.
No, the pot gets plenty of rain - and I also water additionally with rainwater from a can, to be sure.
Have had very little direct or hot sun the past few weeks...
It isn't a huge pot, but it is deep and I planted it nice and deep, with the crown buried.
It was doing so well...
No, the shoots were not brown or dry - the stems just go floppy, the leaves start to wilt and sag, then it gradually withers.
Hi Ladybird, the pot is terracotta. Would a plastic pot have been better? I thought terracotta was better :-(
Maybe i should place the pot on the ground, off the old brick wall...and train the stems upwards towards the trellised fence? It's cooler down there.
The terracotta acts like a storage heater and will retain heat for quite a while after the sun disappears - think about how warm your house bricks can get. Terracotta pots are excellent - but maybe not for a Clematis that is just on 'hold' until your move. Try shading the pot or even moving it all into the shade for now. Clematis will often throw up new shoots if the roots are still fine.