Blueberries and clematis are turning brown! Need help!

Hello, I have been having nothing but bad luck with my flowers. None of them are doing well. My 2 blueberries which you will see in the pictures have flowers on them, but the flowers and leaves are turning brown...parts of the stems are now turning brown. I am losing these guys:( My blueberries from the states are all dead but one...and that's only got a little bit of green on the stems...no new growth...I am losing that one too. That one is called Revellie Southern Highbush. I water them a bit...not too much so I don't drown them. I had put peat moss and rich organic soil before planting the blueberries...I don't know what the acidity of the soil is. I had bought some ph meters to measure acidity, but the meters (both of them) do not give me any kind of reading.What can I do to save them?

I have other problems with my flowers. My geranium has holes in its leaves...something is eating them, I would assume...haven't found it yet. Maybe it's snails. I should probably check to see at night.

My one clematis is blooming...too slowly and doesn't have much growth at all. Its leaves are browning also. My other 2 clematis haven't bloomed for almost a year. there is no growth whatsoever.

Can anyone help me save my plants? I love plants but I guess I can't keep them alive. I tried posting pictures of the other plants, but can't. I guess only one picture can be posted.

I live in Athens, Greece. I believe the planting zone is 9, if I remember correctly. I would really appreciate some tips!

Thanks, Tina:)

Tina, you can only upload one picture per post. To add additional pictures, just reply to your message, add at least a couple words of text and add your photo. You can do this as many times as necessary to include all the pictures you need to.

A question. Has anyone used a herbicide or strong pesticide around your plants?

RE: clematis. I bought a new plant 2 yrs. ago and it did very little, turned brown and wouldn't grow. I live in Kansas and it gets very hot in the summer, plus I had it planted next to a patio. Then, someone told me that clematis likes "wet feet and dry heads" and to place a couple of flat rocks around the edge of the stem at ground level. Wow, this thing has really taken off and is covered with buds this year. My daughter-in-law was having the same problem and she did the rock thing, and her's too has really taken off. Hope this helps.

I think the person who told you "wet feet & dry heads" really meant "feet in the shade, head in the sun" which is a common saying about how to keep clematis happy. The roots like to be cooler so it can help to have mulch, groundcover, etc over the roots, but the top part needs some sun to bloom well. I wouldn't recommend the "wet feet" part--I suspect that would cause problems.

Yes, I think you are right - wet feet means shade and coolness which is what I wanted to convey. Didn't intend for imply that the roots need to be wet - whoops, thanks for clarifying that.

I also am trying to grow Blueberries this year for the first time. I am trying the Northsky variety - probably crazy in Omaha, NE but why not! I found this soil recipe for containers that may help. They say to mix:
1/3 acid based potting soil (if your soil is not already acid based)
1/3 peat moss (apparently this is important too)
1/3 medium bark (must be for drainage)
Then you add a bit of cotton seed meal, feather meal, fish meal and soil sulfer.

I think the message is that you want to get the soil to a fairly low PH. Blueberries need a PH between 4.0 - 6.0. Maybe you can research your variety and find out what PH it likes. I bought a really low cost PH tester online so I could monitor it.
As far as the Clematis, they do love to have cool feet (roots). I actually put a good bit of mulch around the roots of mine. They like a good amount of fertilizer and consistent moisture (but not too much). There is a Clematis wilt disease that can cause problems. You might want to look that up via an internet search.

I hope this helps!

Blueberry plants need a pH between 4.0 and 5.0. A pH between 4.6 and 4.8 is optimal. A pH of 6.0 is too high.

My 5 - 6 year old Clematis plants on trellises grew fine this year and bloomed (and are blooming) profusely. But now the bottom half of the plants are brown with dead leaves. Does anyone know what is happening? And can I prevent this next year? This is the first time it has happened to me. Other Clematis in other areas are doing well. (All, including the sick ones, have mulch and other plants at the bottom.)