Is it dead yet?

That's the title of an article by Hummingbird Vines in Maine.

Here's the link:
http://hummingbirdfarm.net/clematis_dead.htm

A few of us regulars on the Clematis Forum have had a clematis disappear and the best advice I can give is to not dig, not assume it's dead, don't try and dig it up to see what's happening. Follow the advice on the link. There is every chance it will return. Carolyn22 and I have had it happen and it's happened more than once to one of mine.

Keep the clematis faith and good luck if you fear yours is dead.

Yes, it i has definitely happened to me. It happened to my Sunset and I surmise that it what is going on with my Miss Bateman. I will know better in a couple of weeks when that bunch that MB is planted in starts to flower - I know she flowers before the others.

Clematis are notorious for disappearing for a year, sometimes 2 and then coming back.

They tend to return when we've given up hope and buy the exact same cultivar again.

Arlene, thanks for posting the link. I did give up on Comtess de Bouchard, and replaced it with Snow Queen, which had nice healthy pips. It then dried up and looks totally dead, but as suggested, I'll leave it alone and pray for a miracle.

Annette

Comtess disappeared for me as well and never returned. My only guess is that some are stronger than others. I've probably had about a dozen that never returned but I don't often buy it again. I've tried florida Sieboldii twice but it's clear I'm not up to the challenge of growing that one.

If the soil feels dry to the touch, and an inch or down, I'd try a gallon of lukewarm water with a tablespoon of Epsom Salt. Lukewarm water is absorbed faster than cold water per my old pro on radio, now deceased.

I'm going to keep the info about the luke warm water with Epsom salt in my clematis file. We've had so much rain here, the ground has not had time to dry out. The other clematis seem fine and are loving our cooler spring weather as well. We'll see what happens with Snow Queen over the next few years. All the other clematis that I've planted over the years have done fine. I guess my mailbox is not a happy site for the clematis.

Then you could just sprinkle the ES over the earth and add more manure and mulch. Let Mother Nature water it into the soil.