It sucks, doesn't it. I had a clematis seedling that was going to bloom for the very first time and it wilted. I have been waiting 5 years for the stupid thing to bloom so I could see what the flowers looked like. It had several big fat buds that would have opened soon and now they are all drooping. It is so frustrating. Well, keep it watered and maybe you will get a few blooms on the new growth this summer.

Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. It's so disappointing - I thought I was going to get blooms this week!

Should I prune it back and cut off the stems with wilt?

If it is wilt, the generally accepted practice is to cut off all affected stems and dispose of them.

violetta - We are having a major heat wave in the Pac NW! After a Spring of unseasonably cold, cloud covered gloom. This severe blast of intense sun is major for all of our plants. I'm hoping my roses don't get sunburned. I watered a lot this morning! It may not be the dreaded wilt, just wilt from heat. Give your potted plants nice drinks early and in the evening. They should perk up just fine! :o)

I've been watering all day and all day yesterday too.

This heat wave after months of worse than normal gloom and cold is responsible.

I would NOT cut this Clematis back yet.

All the blooms on my crabapple dried up, several of my established rhodies too. Even after I've been watering like crazy.

If the plant is wilting and it is in response to the heat, then cutting back the wilted foliage will aid in the plant's recovery since it will reduce the amount of top foliage that the roots are having trouble supplying water to. Then as the weather resumes its more typical pattern, it will then send out new top growth it can sustain.

Whee! Watering it worked! It perked back up again!

Thanks everyone!

Congrats Violetta, but you know I am big advocate of pruning back clematis. The heat may have exacerbated an existing problem of root to top growth balance so pruning would have helped solve that and given you more vines from where the cuts were made to boot.

the buds on it just opened though! do you really recommend I prune it back? :0(

I would let the buds open, enjoy them either on the plant or in a vase in the house and then cut them back. If I remember correctly, most of the ones that you planted you got last year so this is the year that they should be cut back to encourage more shoots and root development.

We went from months under 65* to 95* with no gradual climb in temps. I have no idea how much water I used but I did lose flowers and foliage on quite a few plants. Not my Clems though.

I watered many plants twice a day Fri and Sat

What does a Clematis with "wilt" look like? I have one that isn't doing too great, and am wondering?

Ah, this sounds familiar. Same happened to me Friday with my Silmakivi (group 3), just as it was blooming. nckvilledudes, you recommend just cutting it back to the ground, then? I just posted in another thread @ this, and it seems like a hard cutback is the only way to save it...darn...! Thanks for your help.

Oh, one more thing...We have had bizarre weather. A freeze on Mother's Day (2 that week), and then very warm weather for a week, very chilly weather this past midweek, and then it went from cloudy & 60 on Thursday to about a full-sun 75 Friday and 80+ yesterday and today.