Clematis Wilt - Phoma clematidina

Clematis are some of the most beautiful flowering vines available to the avid gardener. However, several cultivars are prone to clematis wilt.

This newly transplanted clematis (moved this past spring) has shown signs of the wilt disease.

Rather a young plant, we waited for the flower buds to unfurl, but with the heavy rains we've had and humidity, the buds never got large enough to flower.

On closer inspection, the flowers were wilted and lost some colour.

The stem bearing the flowers at the base had the typical Clematis Wilt brown leaves.

Clematis wilt a few years ago was known as Ascochyta clematidina, but now it is classified under Phoma clematidina. A fungus which in wet weather, multiply by spores, creating blotchy lesions and eventually browning of leaves - making the plant wilt.

Even though the leaves at the tip of the stem are green, the base leaves are all like this.

The best route of action, is to cut back (as far back to the ground level) any stems and leaves that are infected. Do not compost the remnants. Destroy or remove. Re-situate the plant, if it is prone to dampness (frequent foliage contact with water).

Cut right back to ground level. No sense in letting any remaining leaves to infect other healthy ones.

This clematis was planted in a fair bit of clay soil. Adding compost and humus rich soil will help boost it back to health.

Clematis generally like to have "cold feet" which is a term used to describe cooler roots. Help clematis by shading the base of the plant. Planting the clematis slightly deeper than it is in the pot is wise. Make sure the roots are deep enough to keep cool. Planting a perennial or placing a rock over the root system is also beneficial.

While recovering, it's best not to let the remaining foliage get overly wet. You can't help the rain, but any additional waterings should avoid the foliage getting wet.

This is the stem in question. Discarding it, I have cut it in half. The wilt began at the base, slowly working its way to the tip. A sad shame, but thankfully, the wilt didn't spread to the other stems.

Tough Winter on Euonymus - Burned Leaves

This winter has been exceptionally tough on Euonymus foliage. I haven't seen a variety that was unscathed. Not to worry, winter burn and brown leaves will not be left on the shrubs for long.

Sections of this Euonymus, trained as a climber, has burned foliage dotted about.

This is a grouping of Sarcoxie Euonymus. Usually, its dark leafy green foliage is an attraction to plant as an evergreen hedge. Not this winter. Winter burn has caused the majority of leaves to fall off already, leaving this sample quite bare.

Euonymus are rather resilient shrubs and trailers. They will recover given time and adequate conditions. I'm actually quite pleased to see this damage happen. That may sound strange. As a gardener, I see Euonymus scale quite prevalent in the GTA and I believe it's because of our more recent, gentle winters. Scale insects nestle in and fixate tightly on remaining interior foliage and stems over winter and don't die off in large numbers due to protected warmer winter months. Now, I smile in gratitude - for more of these insects will have died off this winter, because of the harsher conditions.

This is Coloratus Euonymus - the ground cover variety. Even with adequate snow coverage, it too has signs of winter burn.

Healthy, soft buds are key to knowing the Euonymus will bounce back. Be sure to water your Euonymus in case we have a dry spring. Watering the plant will ensure the buds stay hydrated and will emerge as leaves during the growing season. In May, buds will unfurl to new leaves and the older burned leaves will eventually fall off. You can aid the process by shaking the bushes, or raking out the worst of the ground cover variety.

If Euonymus is grown as a climber and there's very little growth beneath, simply shake off dead foliage. If it is stubborn to fall off, then prune back to older buds.

Here, you can see healthy buds remain. Not to worry. They will refoliate the plant.

Once the leaves fall off the bush, examine the leaves on their underside. If you see white, flaky residue, it may be scale. Rake as many of the leaves as you can from beneath. It's likely they (not all do) have some overwintering eggs of Euonymus scale insects. Do NOT compost. Remove the leaves from your garden. Add compost or some triple mix to the soil below and be sure to water the plants if we have a dry spring. I caution adding synthetic fertilizers at this point, since scale insects favour stressed plants and love added nutrients. There are only so many healthy leaves to go around. You don't want scale to over-power the plant. For control of this insect, check out my post on Euonymus Scale.

If the leaves are remaining on a ground cover type, or you don't have patience to wait, you can cut back the stems on top, to reveal the green leaves that were protected beneath.Once the buds unfurl to new leaves, the plant should bounce back by June.