Clematis Help

I have some clematis that starts out great, blooms good and then all of a sudden it dies starting at the bottom. Bottom is dead- looking and top is still flowering. My sister thought to much sun but it did the same thing last year and it was in part shade from a tree that is now gone. Don't know the name of it , it is purple and starts blooming early.
Thanks for any and all help

Hello so it really dies? It doesn't just sort of turn woody? that would be the only reason i would think that it would continue to bloom. that is very odd and from what i can remember clematis like full sun light. i hope some one will correct my if i am wrong. lol well good luck.

my miss bateman does that too. almost overnight one of the vines will die. I cut it off at the base and remove it. i've heard it's cleamtis wilt, and my local nursery gave me a systemic product to use, but it hasn't worked. so... i just cut off the dead vine. it's heartbreaking, because it usually has a ton of buds on it by that point. mine never makes it to the flowering part though. maybe there's a broken stem along the way?

Prune it almost to the ground, and it will start putting out new shoots.

Did you cut it back last season? I have one that I cut back and one that I did not. The plant that I did not cut back did the same way. It bloomed earlier...but...it looks dead at the bottom.

No GreenThumb I didn't get it cut back last year. I will try pruning it back Irwells nothing else has worked. Tried a fungicide but didn't seem to help and haven't found any insects on it .
Smileymom hate to hear you have same or similar problem. At least mine gets to bloom for a little while. Craziest thing I ever seen though.
Laurie I call it dead everything seems to turn brown and dry up and the stems are just brown and get brittle if you try to move one it just breaks.
Finally got a pic of it
Thanks for all the help

Doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it to me. I'm pretty good about pruning them when I do the roses, but haven't been great about the pruning after the spring bloom.

Thanks Irwells. I am going to make sure I prune them back this year. Hopefully next year the bottom half will stay green too.
Thanks again

They look exactly like mine do about this time of year if I don't prune after they bloom. I did mine too late, so I hope I don't lose them.

Thanks
Would be a shame to lose them.

You might go to the Clematis Forum.....lots of good information there and many helpful clem lovers....kim