symptoms
Symptoms
- circleSudden collapse and blackening of stems, often starting at a leaf node
- circleWilting of one or more stems while the rest of the plant looks healthy
- circleLeaves turning black and shrivelling rapidly
help
Causes
Most commonly caused by the fungus Phoma clematidina, which enters through wounds or splits at leaf nodes near soil level, especially during humid weather. Large-flowered hybrid clematis are most susceptible.
healing
Treatment
Cut affected stems back to healthy tissue well below the wilted section, ideally to ground level, and destroy the removed material rather than composting it. The plant will often regrow from the roots.
shield
Prevention
Plant clematis 5–8cm deeper than the nursery pot so it can regrow from below soil level if wilt strikes, keep the root zone cool and mulched, and avoid damaging stems near the base when weeding or staking.