Ants on clematis, one plant brown and crispy

[Deleted User]

Hello,

My two clematis plants have ants crawling all over them, and have seen online that this could be due to an aphid infestation.

What is the best way to get rid of them? Someone made a homemade garlic spray. Any tips on how to make one of those up, or any other good tips of getting rid?

It's also gone quite brown and crispy on one side despite being watered daily. Why could this be?

Thanks!

Obelixx

Ants thrive in dry conditions and actually introduce aphids to plants and then protect them against predators so they can farm the honeydew they produce and feed it to their young.

I suspect you need to give the clematis a thorough drenching and then keep its rootball moist but not drowning.    You can deter ants with chemicals they take back to the est and which then kill them or you can encourage them to move on by watering with a solution of 5 litres of water mixed with one small bottle of essential oil of cloves. 

You can find recipes for garlic spray online if you google but it's a smelly beast.

The crispy stem may be due to it being snapped at the base or having its bark stripped by slugs or snails.   Remove it and feed your clematis some liquid tomato food to help it recover.

[Deleted User]

Thank you so much! That's been very helpful.