Clematis help

pitter-patter

My clematis Taiga has a very this stem at the bottom of the plant. I’ve buried some of the stem when I’ve planted it, but now I’m wondering whether I shouldn’t have buried it up to the point it branches out.

Any advice? Will it thrive as it is?

Stevedaylilly

It’s looks a healthy plant based on its foliage. Have you staked it to grow upwards on to a trellis or shrub?

As it is a young plant I would also remove any other plants or weeds that are close to it to give it a good chance of not having to compete with them. 

Did you plant it with a generous amount of compost in the planting mix and buried the rootball 3“to 4” below the ground level ?
Give it a feed of FBB and water in well and mulch it with garden compost and it should start to build its self up from the base upwards  

pitter-patter

Thank you, @Stevedaylilly. I have done all of the things you mentioned. I’ve removed the cane in order to take a clearer photo. The plant it’s growing towards a trellis. I will get rid of the calendula that is growing very close to it and the other seedlings. I had some of the new shoots suddenly drying and I had to remove them and that’s when I’ve started to worry. The stem seems very thin and the bark seems to be peeling off. I’m just not sure it’s capable of sustaining the new growth.

Fairygirl

I think that needs planted deeper, and you've probably had some slug damage to stems.
Nothing to worry about.
If you can tie it in to a cane or similar, to guide it towards the support, that will help. Use soft string.
You can also mulch over that lower section which will help, and add a few slug pellets round it - just a few though. Too many just attracts more slugs instead of repelling them.

Stevedaylilly

Hi,
Most young Clematis stems are very fragile but once a years growth has been completed they should thicken up. I wouldn’t worry too much as most Clematis will let you know their not feeling good by their foliage. Good strong foliage normally means the plant is growing well 
They are quite hungry plants and with all my established Clematis in my garden I feed every 2 weeks with tomato feed up to flowering and they all seem to flower well 

pitter-patter

Thank you so much @Stevedaylilly for taking the time to help me. I will keep an eye on it and see how it progresses.

Thank you, @Fairygirl. I will mulch with some compost, I don’t want to risk burying it deeper at this time as I’ve already planted it 10 cm deeper to begin.