Clematis wilting almost over night!

I bought two clematis late last summer to train up the trellis wall of my deck. They survived the winter and took off like crazy this spring. Both were marked as Lincoln Stars but they're not! I figured I'd let them go and see how they turned out. One is a Venosa Violacea and the other I think is an Amanda Marie. Not a combination I'm crazy about but like I said, I was going to leave them and see what they did. The VV is up to 6 foot tall already. Just the past two days though I'm seeing them wilt. The VV happened almost over night. It's blooms have closed up and wilted and the plant leaves are wilting and turning brown. The AM is starting to wilt now too. Does anyone have any idea what is happening with them? I don't see bugs, pests or such on the stems and leaves and the stalks are brown but don't look any different than my other clematis around the yard. Nothing has changed in watering patterns or such. I'd appreciate any help you can give.

Here's the Amanda Marie(?) that is just 2 foot or so from the Venosa Violacea which is also beginning to wilt.

This is what the Venosa Violacea looked like just last week! Blooming and perky and growing like crazy. I really like it and am hoping I can save it.

It really is heartbreaking when that happens. Same thing happened to my pink champagn - it came up beautifully this spring, it was nice and bushy and almost overnight the whole thing just wilted!!!!! It was the first time that this has happened to one of my clems.....anyhow I simply cut it down to the ground.

I'm thinking I may have to cut mine down too, DawnLL. Do you think they'll come back or atleast show some growth again yet this year?

Clematis wilt.

You should cut the stems back to at least an inch below the wilted section to remove the infection ( it is a fungus) New shoots should appear at or below the soil line.

haven't you had a lot of storms in indiana? it may be clematis wilt, but it an also be from too much water and poor drainage or wind damage. no matter the cause best to cut it down to a node or two from the ground. if it starts growing vigorously from those nodes, and hopefully pushing up new shoots too, then it was not clematis wilt. if the small remaining part of the plant you left also turns brown, then cut it all the way to the ground..it probably is clematis wilt. with patience it will start generating new shoots.
in either case use a spray that is good for powdery mildew on the ground or the remaining stems and fertilize.
sometimes when it first starts getting hot young clematis plants can look wilted when they need water...doubt that is the problem, but in case it could be i'll mention that.
many young clematis do this...could be fungus or also the vascular system just collapses from the strain of the fast growth and demands of blooming. it will come back!!!!

Definitely cut the affected vines to about 1 inch above ground level. DO NOT compost your wilted vines. Please dispose of them in the trash. You don't want this problem to spread to other plants in your garden.

Venosa Violacea & Amanda Marie are Group 3 Clematis and should not have been as susceptible to fungal disease as Group 2 Clematis are. Are you sure there aren't any insects or tiny eggs on the under sides of the leaves?

Venosa Violacea http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=585

Amanda Marie http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=1841

Interesting - I cut mine back like 3 weeks ago and nothing has grown back up since??? I am a bit concerned! Not sure if mine was wilt for sure but I am sure I had no bugs etc. I just cut it all down cause I figured it was wilt - mine looked the same as Country. However I see no signs of life of any clematis returning......

Yes, we have had a lot of rain and it could be those two are in a "wetter" area than my other three. I didn't see any bugs yesterday when I pulled off some of the dead leaves but I'll check again today, and I'll definitely check out the links, Shirley. Thank you. And it makes sense that they may have just spent themselves out trying to grow so rapidly. I never expected them to get 4 and 6 foot tall their first season. I figured I'd be spending the first year or two training them up TO the trellis, let alone getting them to spread across it in that time! I'll cut down the badly wilted ones and see what the other vines do. I did read something about magnesium deficiency in Clematis. Does anyone have any experience with that?

Yellow Leaves is a sign of Magnesium deficiency in the soil..Mixing a TBS of Epsom Salts with a gallon of water...then water around the vine..do this weekly until you see them start greening up..Wilting is unmistakeable as the leaves and vines turn black..not brown...brown is either a sign of underwatering or a broken vine...if that is the problem just prune below the break...with wilt..I cut my vine even with the soil and keep watering..it will re-emerge...and never give up as they can skip a year and pop up again next year...Jeanne

Even if the vines don't reappear this season, their root systems are developing which is very important to sustain a large flowering vine. I would either put a ring of rocks or chicken wire around the area where the Clematis vines were growing so that you don't forget that they are there. Keep the soil moist and hopefully they will reappear next season.

I agree. Don't count them out if you do not see them again this season. I had one broken off by a neighbor dog and did not come back at all last year, but was back better than ever this year. Just fertilize lightly and topdress with some compost. I love my VV's, they bloom their little hearts out!

Thanks for the great info!

One more thing, spraying your Clematis leaves with a Light Horticultural Oil helps to control the insects and fungal problems. It's great for controlling mildew.

What causes Clematis leaves to wilt and turn black? A fungus of some sort? I noticed this on my Asao last evening. The problem is confined to one shoot and seems to have started about 2 feet above ground. I tried pruning away the affected portion of the vine. I've never had problems with this 3-year old vine until now. The ground has been rather dry, but I've watered -- but not excessively. Have any of you had problems with leaves wilting and turning black? This, too, happened suddenly, during the course of the day.

if it is black, it is probably clematis fungus..clemintindina something or other officially. it wiped out clematis in the victorian era, but now most plants can handle a bit of it. there is a lot of advice on how to handle it on line that i will not repeat...just research a bit and you will find it. the heavy rains this year have been hard on the plants.
a damaged vine can be penetrated by a variety of diseases at any place on the vine, so it may not be clematis wilt.

Niobe, thanks much for your reply!

Group 2's are notorious for getting Clematis Wilt! Try growing Group1's or 3's, specifically Viticellas because they are much more disease resistant.

Great info Shirley! I wish I knew more about wilt before I had planted most of clematises - cause I honestly think I would have chosen Group 3's. However at the time being a newbie I picked out so many 2's...I still love them but I think it would be much easier and stress free without the 2's LOL LOL

the older the plant the more resistant to wilt...they build up a tolerance, or the sheer vigor of the plant enables them to flourish in spite of...

Niobe is correct..those pruning group 2's once they have passed that 3 year mark rarely ever wilt again..I am in the school of thought that the reason for wilt is an immature root system not being able to handle all those long growing vines and wilt in order to preserve the roots and pruning those wilted vines back to soil level and remembering to keep watered with a liquid feed will 99% of the time ensure their return..once the roots system is strong and mature they won't wilt...JMTCW...Jeanne

Thanks all, for the great discussion! I cut the one bad vine off; the other one didn't look too bad so left it to see what it would do. It hasn't wilted--it seems to have revived somehwat, but I've noticed the blooming and growing has stopped on both clematis so I'm tending to think they were growing too fast for as young as they are. I'm tempted to cut them both off to the ground come fall and let them start over next spring. Amanda has two woody vines but no leaves or anything for about 12 inches up. Maybe cutting them back will make it send up more shoots? I also mixed up an Epsom salt solution and poured on them--figured it couldn't hurt! They seem to have stabilized now so that's good! There are little trellises behind them so I won't forget where they were.

I removed the wilted strand from my Asao and it seems to be fine (other than being lopsided on the obelisk!). There was a surge of new growth after the bloom period and it looks like I might get 2 or 3 blooms at the top of the vine in a couple of weeks or so. :-)

Edited to say that I appreciate everyone's input here. Jeanne, I think you hit the nail on the head. Root preservation was very likely a factor in the wilting as the vine had bloomed heavily.

This message was edited Jul 6, 2008 12:45 AM

Mine tend to wilt more from wind damage, especially the younger vines. I have lost a section of my Odoriba, Miniseelik, and Nelly after a big storm. They come back, but it is so frustrating to see a bunch of buds ready to open one day and the next they are all wilty :(

Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for this thread. Like so many of you, my Group 3 clem was beautiful one day, and wilting the next. After reading the advice here, I know what to do. And, I must remember that patience is a virtue when it comes to seeing the new growth.

I have another question, though. I just put in a new Group 3 clem a few weeks ago. I followed all the instructions to the "T", but the poor plant looks like it is dying. Could this be because of the heavy rains that we have experienced almost every other day since I planted the clem? And, should I cut this one back to ground level and hope for vines next spring?

Candyce, I'll let the experts answer your question, but I can report on a similar experience. I put in a few group 3 clems a few weeks ago at a time of lots of rain. In one case the few leaves shriveled up and the thing died back completely. Was worried it wasn't getting enough sun and the ground was too wet. Left it alone and two weeks later a little shoot started to poke through. Went away for the weekend, came back, and the shoot was almost 2 ft tall. It came from Silverstar Vinery and had a huge root system -- and Debby the owner told me I couldn't kill it if I tried. And, so far, she was right!

Whoo Hoo!
That gives me hope.
Thanks, so much.

If it is too wet, the baby clem won't like it much. While they need a lot of water in general. the babies just don't have the root systems to deal with it. Cut back only the dead foliage and don't give any water without feeling to make sure the soil is on the dry side. If you are getting regular rains, don't water at all. Clems in general, but especially Group 3's, are very hardy and will spring back. Occasionally you will get one that doesn't, but that's not usual.

What cultivar did you plant?

Good luck!

Lesa

Hi Lesa:

Thanks for that info. The tag on the clem tells me that it's a "Jack Rubra", but finding info on it is tough. And, I have just been going on the info provided on the tag so far, as my online time has been curtailed lately. I think I'll try and do more research (internet) this week end. There is a similar clem in the PlantFiles, so I've been studying that source as well.

Candyce, here ya go: http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=239

:)

According to CoTW, Jack Rubra is Group 2, though, not a Group 3.




This message was edited Jul 11, 2008 9:53 AM

Hmmm ..... thanks for the link. Funny. The tag on the plant says Group 3. But, hey! What do nurseries know, anyway? ^_^

Nurseries get tags wrong all the time :( I'd be more inclined to trust CoTW.

Me, too. Thanks for all of your help. I have cut away all the bad parts, and I am keeping my fingers crossed.