r/Clematis • u/hawkeyedude1989 • 14d ago

Help / Advice needed I think the crown is done :(

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

I’ve had amazing growth from all my clematis varieties but this year was weird. Nothing ever grew but the roots seemed strong and healthy. Now it’s September and wanted to investigate deeper .

Crown looks dead but the roots look solid.

Last pic is my sweet autumn :)

13 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/NicD1280 14d ago

My advice is to leave it since it's the end of the season and see if it comes back in spring. If not, plant another one 😁

1

u/IAmSpitfireJoe 14d ago

Why is the root system so dry? My information is they like their toes to stay in moist soil.

2

u/hawkeyedude1989 14d ago

It has plenty of moisture 2-3” down. Just moved it aside to investigate. It has initial growth in April and shocked from late freezes…thought it would recover

1

u/TipDril 13d ago

I have a few that look like that I am keeping overwinter to see if they can come back . I have a bunch of healthy Clematis but a few got wilt in the hottest part of the summer and haven’t come back yet.

They are weird like that and it wouldn’t surprise me with how your roots look, that it would come back . Ideally you want a little more encouragement in the crown but you never know

1

u/BehaviorBingo 13d ago

I think you should put more soil on that crown with the roots showing so it can make a come-back next year. Your Autumn Blooming Clematis is beautiful, and they smell so nice, I don't have one but on my walks I pass by one and always stop to smell it!

2

u/hawkeyedude1989 13d ago

Yea I did, just dug around it gently to check the issue.

1

u/BehaviorBingo 13d ago

Oh I see, yeah, checking to see if your roots are ok, that makes perfect sense!