My Sweet Autumn is looking absolutely horrible. It's about 10 years old and growing on a white trellis. It's looked beautiful every year but this year it appears to be dieing. :( We've trimmed it back every Spring and it was growing just fine until about 2 weeks ago. Then slowly it's looking worse and worse. Trim it back? I'm certain I'd loose this years buds but I'd rather do that than loose the plant. We did have alot of rain this Spring and early Summer. Could that be it?
Tks....
Sweet Autumn Clematis
I'm guesing too much rain,. I have lost a large weeping cherry, about 5 yrs. old. Two years in a row, my poppies come up well, lots of buds, then continuous rains, they rot in the ground, they have managed to come back each year, so far. Hoping next year it will be normal amounts of rain.
I have layered ends of my autumn clematis on ground, covered with soil. Looks like some pieces might be taking root, at least haven't died yet, so.....
And you're not that awfully far away from me. You think I should trim it back? It looks so sad......
Don't think it would hurt. My roots rotted on the things I lost. If we get warmer dryer conditions, it may have shoots coming back from the root, if it isn't too far gone.
Wishing you luck.
The plant is native here in the S. East. I think it needs a loamy soil and to have its roots mulched and cool during the summer. I wouldn't trim in spring but in the fall, after blooming. I think it's a bit out of its range in your area but Good Luck!
This message was edited Aug 30, 2004 8:27 PM
I grow the sweet autumn in Iowa. Never had any trouble with mine, but I sure have some others that have died back prematurely and I'm blaming it on all the cold weather we had in August. Will just wait and see next spring if they were dying or just going dormant early.
Sledder, I have had the same experience with my Sweet Autumn Clematis also. In the past 2 weeks, either some sort of fungal disease or an excessive amount of rain is causing it to wilt. I was going to see if it came back on its own. If not, I'll cut mine back and hope it will do better next year.
I had over a hundred seedlings to come up from my Sweet Autumn this year from seeds that had fallen off the plant. I was giving seedlings left and right, trying to get rid of all of them.
Does the dieback look to be something other than clematis wilt? What do the leaves look like? Thanks!
Sandy