Clematis armandii, dead leaves and mould

Turbulent Bill

One of my clematis armandii has some stems with brown leaves which have mould / mildew. The newer growth near the ends of the stems is healthy and growing well, problem is nearer to ground level. Seems to be getting worse over the last few weeks.

Any guesses on cause and how to fix this? I've cut out some shorter stems, but I don't want to hack it to bits unless I have to. There's another one beside it in better shape but with the same symptoms. Not sure if this is environmental (and will sort itself out) or something infectious.

looksee

Is it white and powdery? If it is it is most likely powdery mildew. Suggest you gather up all dead leaves and anything with mould on it. Clear out round the base of the plant so there is more air circulation. Is the base shaded? While clematis like to have their roots cool (put a tile or slab over the roots) the rest of the plant prefers a little sunshine to keep mould at bay. You could try rinsing off (with a hose, for example) the stems when you have cleared away any dead stuff. Improving conditions should help the situation.

Otherwise the main problem for clematis is clematis wilt, but that is sudden death of the entire plant - cut it down right to ground level and it will generally sprout again healthy.

Turbulent Bill

looksee wrote: »

Is it white and powdery? If it is it is most likely powdery mildew. Suggest you gather up all dead leaves and anything with mould on it. Clear out round the base of the plant so there is more air circulation. Is the base shaded? While clematis like to have their roots cool (put a tile or slab over the roots) the rest of the plant prefers a little sunshine to keep mould at bay. You could try rinsing off (with a hose, for example) the stems when you have cleared away any dead stuff. Improving conditions should help the situation.

Otherwise the main problem for clematis is clematis wilt, but that is sudden death of the entire plant - cut it down right to ground level and it will generally sprout again healthy.

Thanks, yes it looks like mildew. The base is shaded (though not excessively so), and it's on a west-facing wall so it gets good light on the rest of the plant. Will try a cleanup and see if it does the trick.

I've had clematis wilt on a different plant before, but then it all died at the same time.

standardg60

It's pretty normal for Clematis armandii to go bare at the base. If the top growth is fine i wouldn't worry about it.
Species clematis don't suffer from wilt btw.