Honeysuckle bare

Gerti03

Hi my honeysuckle are both bare from  Halfway down the plant,  infact they look dead,  yet the top part of both pmants is healthy green in flower.  We have quite a lot of clay in soil. Is this the problem..? Any help appreciated. 

Dovefromabove

It's thirsty and probably needs lots of water - we've had a very dry year so far and honeysuckle likes damp roots - It's probably succumbed to powdery mildew due to being short of water.

Three buckets full of water now, and then one bucket full twice a week until the autumn and cooler weather comes.