Hardiness of clematis vs honeysuckle

Brie

I have two arches from the patio to the main portion of the garden.  On one there is honeysuckle (pink variety) and on the other there is a yellow "old man" clematis.  

Last summer when it was so very hot and dry the honeysuckle looked like it was about to expire completely but struggled back better in the autumn.  Now it is greening up nicely and looks quite healthy.  By contrast the clematis last summer didn't look the least bit bothered by the heat and drought and, while it didn't flower for a while, stayed green throughout.  But it should be now have a fair bit of green coming through and even start to flower.  Instead it looks deader than a dead parrot.  (all my lavenders look dead too but they were new tiddlers last summer so not a biggy and easily replaced).  

So any advice on what to do about the clematis?  How do I know if it's completely shot?  I think there is a bird's nest in the top of the arch so I won't be mucking around too much with it right away but don't know if I have to start planning on replacing it completely.  This would be a shame as it's an old established plant - some of the "trunk" coming up the side are at least 2 inches across!

fyi - south coast, ridiculously hard poor soil, and a lot of very cold weather of course until recently but absolutely no snow all winter.  (shame about the lack of snow as I assume that might have insulated the roots a bit)

mi-key

I  have both in my garden, the honeysuckle is evergreen so tends to grow well all year round ( mainly flowering in the summer ). The clematis I have evergreen and normal, and the normal one can look a bit woody and bad before it comes into bloom again. I find cutting it back quite hard in the autumn makes it grow better in the spring. 

We have had a pretty cold winter though, so it may just be it will take a couple of months later to start showing new growth

GrubbyGirl_2

clematis do benefit from  hard prune in the autumn, but it's been a cold spring so it's probably just late

FreeBear

GrubbyGirl_2 said: clematis do benefit from  hard prune in the autumn, but it's been a cold spring so it's probably just late

Several of my plants are late in starting to bud.

To see if the clematis is still alive, scrape one of the stems with a fingernail. Just under the "bark" will be a whitish layer if it is alive.

[Deleted User]

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

clematis do benefit from  hard prune in the autumn, but it's been a cold spring so it's probably just late

It depends on the variety, really, different types have different pruning requirements.

[Deleted User]

Brie said:

I have two arches from the patio to the main portion of the garden.  On one there is honeysuckle (pink variety) and on the other there is a yellow "old man" clematis.  

Last summer when it was so very hot and dry the honeysuckle looked like it was about to expire completely but struggled back better in the autumn.  Now it is greening up nicely and looks quite healthy.  By contrast the clematis last summer didn't look the least bit bothered by the heat and drought and, while it didn't flower for a while, stayed green throughout.  But it should be now have a fair bit of green coming through and even start to flower.  Instead it looks deader than a dead parrot.  (all my lavenders look dead too but they were new tiddlers last summer so not a biggy and easily replaced).  

So any advice on what to do about the clematis?  How do I know if it's completely shot?  I think there is a bird's nest in the top of the arch so I won't be mucking around too much with it right away but don't know if I have to start planning on replacing it completely.  This would be a shame as it's an old established plant - some of the "trunk" coming up the side are at least 2 inches across!

fyi - south coast, ridiculously hard poor soil, and a lot of very cold weather of course until recently but absolutely no snow all winter.  (shame about the lack of snow as I assume that might have insulated the roots a bit)

I'd leave it for a bit and just see how it goes, being an established plant its roots will be well entrenched - if it had been less than a year planted i'd say its roots were dehydrated and gone.

If it's older than 10 years it might be exhausted and either resting or gone - either way though, i'd leave it be for a while.

Plus, instead of hiking it out of the ground i'd keep it to use a framework for a new one, especially if there's nest there.

Silvertabby

I have several clematis - and despite last winter and being north of Watford gap, all are romping away.

Sadly, if your clematis is still dormant, then I suspect that it's gone to the great garden in the sky.

If you do want to replace it, try a Jackmanii.  Lovely dark blue/purple, tough as old boots, and mine has never shown any signs of the dreaded 'wilt'.

Brie

Thanks all - I will give it a poke and wait a few more weeks before I do anything radical.  And I don't think I would root it up if it was dead as I suspect that it may in fact be helping keep the arch in place (you know what I mean!!)

Brie

fyi - this is the one and the suggestion is for pruning in the spring!!  (but I'll wait til the birds are well fledged)

BBC - Gardening: Plant Finder - Old man's beard