Sweet autumn clematis is fully hardy, so it wasn't the cold, and I didn't lose any clematis to the wet spring, though my soil drains well. If you had standing water for too long or have poor drainage that left the soil fully saturated for a long time, it might have done them in.

In my garden, the cause of clematis disappearing over the winter has been voles eating the roots. If you push gently over the area where the clematis roots were, you may find that there is a tunnel there. I have started planting my clematis in hardware cloth cages.

Regardless, my sympathies on losing plants you enjoyed.

I have enough sweet autumn clematis to cover your chicken run, your pergola, your garage, your house, and your neighbors homes too. If you're coming to the Cape anytime soon, let me know, and I'll pot up a couple of dozen of them for you, instead of spraying them with vinegar. Of course these are no-name plants - although I bought the first one from White Flower Farm (before I knew how they behaved in zone 7). Is Sweet William a particularly nice variety? If so, you have my sympathy - not that the 'plain' ones aren't nice when they bloom.

Gee, if voles can do them in, maybe I'll try to stop my dog from hunting them - she's pretty effective.

Thanks for the kind words, definitely not a drainage issue, they were young plants 6-10 years old-- we have a terrible chipmunk invasion since my chow mix is gone- she chased those things into the drainpipe extension, dislodged it and rolled them the around the yard LOL how I miss her! I think Sweet Willism is a nice plant, had one back home in PA that just about encircled the plant, that's why I planted them to cover up the out buildings here. I'll check out for tunnels, thanks again! Next beach day, I' ll stop by for those clematis!

Sorry to hear about your losses, Sami. Sounds like a lot of chipmunks. Your chow mix sounds pretty funny. I've been babysitting our son's dog and amazed at not seeing a chipmunk this year. Maybe you will decide to bring another dog into your life soon? :-)

Sami,

If your Sweet Autumn Clematis had very thick stems at the base, you might have been a victim of borers. Check for small holes in the stems about a foot or higher from the soil level.

Steve