Clematis seem to be somewhat of an art form and they do take time to mature to expectations. Last summer I 'fostered' four in pots while their original owners moved. I kept them alive and let them climb above their in pot wire trellis - and they bloomed for me. Long story short, this year I got full custody.

They made it thru the winter in their pots, but by the time I 'got around' to planting them, they were just impossible to get out of the pots w/out major damage ..... so I positioned the pots at the base of wood trellises and let 'em go at it. They've continued to grow and have been blooming their brains out for months now.

From my reading about clematis' I think mine are of the 'don't cut back' variety. So, I won't. The blooms are slowing down now, and the vines are growing again. Not sure what the rest of this year or next year will bring - just watching them. Hopeful that I haven't done them too wrong.

You probably damaged a stem when you planted it. Very easy to do. It should be just fine.

Yeah that is what I'm thinking too. I don't think they are that sensitive to moisture or mine would have done the same thing today. They do take a few years to mature and depending on the type won't bloom until next year...but you may get some rogue blooms this fall?

Depending on the variety of clematis you have, the clematis sounds like it has clematis wilt, a common occurrence for type II clematis. This is especially true if you noticed no breaks on the stem where the part was brown and wilty looking. All you can do is remove the part that has wilted and wait and see what happens.

All clematis should be planted several inches deeper in the ground than they were in their original pots since this buries dormant nodes that allow the plant to resurrect itself from clematis wilt or if a critter comes along and chews it off.

For what it is worth, knowing what you purchase and its pruning class are paramount for successful clematis growing. Even the type I and IIs which typically don't get cut back should be cut back to within a couple of inches of the ground the second spring they are in the ground. This encourages root development and can cause dormant nodes to break, resulting in more vines out of the ground.

In my garden the type IIs which don't typically get cut back, are treated as type IIIs which get cut back every year. For those that I have done this to, they are bushier, more robust, and more floriferous than if I don't. Usuallly by mid summer, the type IIs get browned out severely regardless of how much watering you give them. I just whack them back by half and am rewarded by more blooms in the early fall.

Here is a picture of Proteus and Piilu, both type IIs planted together, earlier this spring after I cut them to the ground. The hacking back to the ground has not affected them one bit, they are back just as vigorous as ever, and are now about ready to bloom.
{{gwi:572011}}

Here are the plants today with some blooms and many buds on them ready to pop. Moral of the story is don't be afraid of cutting back all your clematis. You may delay or put off blooming for one year, but in the long run, you will end up with a much healthier and robust plant for it.

{{gwi:572012}}

{{gwi:572014}}
{{gwi:572016}}