Diamond Enthusiast
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Well my search gave too possible problems:
Clematis wilt, which kills with in a short period of time and drought - the site I read said:
Collapsing plants need immediate action, as this is a sign of clematis wilt, which is the main enemy of clematis. This can destroy a healthy plant in a matter of days.
It is a fungal infection that usually enters the plant when the stem is damaged or beneath the soil. Affected plants suddenly wilt from the top downwards; the leaves turn black and shrivel. Do not confuse this with wilt caused by drought, when the leaves become brown and crispy.
I think it is time to address the soil and make it a tad bit more drought hardy.
The addition of lots of organic material like composted bark, leaves, grass leaves, to the soil makes the soil absorb and hold on to more water.
I know that my suggestion is going to require a lot of work, but it is worth it in the long run.
Dig a hole up to 3 times larger than the root ball of the plant. That is to say if you have a root ball of 1 foot in diameter, the whole should be dug 1 1/2 to three feet deep (depending on the root system of what ever you are planting, trees tend to go deep, most bushes and shrubs root shallow)and 2-3 feet around.
Take newspaper - old newspaper (for vegetable gardens use only the black and white pages) and lay whole section around and against the sides of the hole to about a depth of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Now fill the hole with water - slowly, so the news paper gets sopping wet.
This is just the start, there is more.
Take 1/2 compost (which if you get it in bags will be a lot of bags) and 1/2 soil and mix it, and fill the hole. Fill the hole to the depth of the root ball, stepping on the soil to pack it in. Fill your hole with water, again, and let it seep out. Since the newspaper is in there, it should take a very long time for the water to drain out - which is what you are aiming for.
Place the plant and fill in the rest of the hole, watering as you layer the soil to get it all wet.
The Newspaper and the compost will both feed the plant. The newspaper will hold lots of water, promoting root growth down and out from the plant. You are creating a temporary paper pot which will hold more water than the rest of the soil and it will decompose and feed the plant as it gets older.
I used this method in my vegetable garden, we live in mostly sand region, the water drains out of the soil rapidly. I started the vegetable garden 5 years ago and last fall I decided to enlarge one of the beds, digging down I discovered that my newspaper had rotted into a black line of worm food - big worms, huge worms - the type that you don't need a hook to catch a fish, just the worm.
Of course I have been adding compost to the soil every year since. Today I only need to water on the very hot weeks, the soil remains moist for long periods of time.
You will, after planting want to heavily mulch around the plant. You can use bark, hay, straw, even grass clippings - this will keep moisture in the soil, preventing it from evaporating.
I use newspaper (recycle, reuse, compost) laid out about a good section thick, then I give it all a good soaking, then hide it under pretty mulch material like shredded bark. Bales of straw (hay had seed, which will grow) come in handy and leave behind a light yellow layer which reflects heat and light and keeps the roots (soil) cool. Which is something that clematis needs.
The above is a long term solution, until you feel ready to do all of that work (and save up daily newspapers) you could water it more, and try mulching around the base of the plant, leaving a ring of bare soil 3-6 inches around the trunk. Clematis loves cool soil, mulching would keep the soil cool.
David
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Looks like I have some soil "amending" to do !
