My clematis was growing and blooming beautifully. Now all of the leaves are turning brown and dying from the bottom up. Some of the top leaves still have blooms. This was their second year in a container. Today I put a raised bed arouond the trellis and took the plants out of the pots. They were very root bound. Should I cut all of the vines off? Please help.
Betty
Help please.
Betty..you can "Prune" the vines down..go to about the 3rd leaf axil from the soil and cut an inch above that...if it is totally wilted they will look black..in that instance you do prune even with the soil....some varieties of clematis will have what you called "bare legs" which is brown leaves on the bottom, don't confuse that with wilt or a broken vine...that's a sign that you aren't watering enough and stressing the plant...only you can look and evaluate what is wrong..make sure and plant them 2-4 inches deeper than the pot they were in and put a handful of bonemeal in the planting hole..goodluck and hope you see new vines emerging..keep them moist..NOT SOGGY but moist.....Jeanne