Unsure if our clematis has clematis wilt

Vix and Scott

Hi, please could someone tell me what might be wrong with our clematis? We have never managed to get it to flower in 2 years it was fine then suddenly we woke up the next day and it looked like the photo attached. I’m unsure if it is clematis wilt or something else. It’s such a drastic thing to do cut it back to the root if it’s not clematis wilt which is why I thought I would ask you all first. Any help would be appreciated.

Fairygirl

What clematis is it?
Very few get wilt.
I think that's just totally dehydrated and hungry.

BobTheGardener

Looks drought, or molluscs have scraped away the bark at the bottom of the stem.  Wilt is extremely rare and starts at the top and works it's way down.  Cut the dead stem back to the ground, water well (2 bucketfuls slowly tipped over the roots area so is goes down and doesn't run off the surface), twice a week.  Hopefully, new shoots will then appear.

Fairygirl

Probably not been planted more deeply either @BobTheGardener, assuming it's one that benefits from that. 
If it was a young plant too, it will have struggled to establish and grow more stems. If it was a reasonably mature plant and it's been there two years, it should be big and healthy by now, and ready to cover a good area. 

BobTheGardener

Yes, I agree after looking more closely at the base, @Fairygirl - I would have planted it about 5" deeper.

Fairygirl

You're eyesight's better than mine @BobTheGardener
I suppose I could have enlarged a bit though.

I enlarged it and I think it's Ernest Markham - a Group 2, so should have been planted more deeply, which would have helped it establish.

Vix and Scott

Thank you for your help. I could cut it right down to the root. I water it very regularly and only fed it last week with feed at the root. I don’t know why we have never had any luck with it. It gets some sun and some shade. Our soil is alkaline but quite stony

Vix and Scott

yes @Fairygirl it is indeed an Ernest Markham. I’m guessing it is too late to try and plant it deeper it might definitely die if we take it out and put it further in

Fairygirl

I'd lift it and improve the soil it's in, and replant several inches deeper, or put it into a nice deep pot to let it grow on a bit. Cut back that dead growth.
A huge drink of water, then leave a couple of days and repeat. Don't keep feeding it when it's like that, as it's counter productive. 
It should be a large plant by now and flowering well at this time of year. What size of pot was it in when you got it?

Vix and Scott

Okay I will research what soil it needs and take it out. I’m afraid I don’t remember the size of the pot we got it in. I have some big ceramic pots I could put it in but they don’t have holes in the bottom for draining so don’t know if they’d be any good. My dad bought it for us from an online company. He also bought a clematis at the same time January 2019 (I got it wrong we haven’t had it 2 years) and his has died too. The company apparently guarantee them for 5 years so they may well replace it but I do want to try and help this one. 

Fairygirl

If it's potted  it absolutely has to have holes or it'll just rot. Any deep pot would do - it just needs to be a bit bigger than the existing root ball, but if you don't want to do that, don't worry.
If you can, dig it out - make sure you dig far enough away from any roots, and far enough down, then dig the hole a bit bigger, and improve it with lots of good compost mixed in with the soil from the hole. Then replant a bit deeper and  that will help. A thorough watering - a big canful, and then repeat every couple of days. It should still be viable, and planting deeper will help produce more stems from below ground 
I'd plant it a bit further from the fence too. 

If you're genuinely worried about lifting it, then put a load of good compost over it, and water copiously, but it's surprising how easy they are to move. It's not happy just now anyway, so nothing to lose really.