Interesting about the moisture; I think what killed my clematis (mostly killed it, maybe one vine of the lot is not wilting) is I gave it too much water. I think I'm wrong that I killed the other, looks like it got hit and a piece of vine broke off - so relief on that (and less guilt). But you're in a hotter location than me to some extent, so that may be the difference, because we have one old clematis vine (18 yrs) which has not been watered in it's life, in a perennial island in the center of the front yard, and it's huge. It bakes dry every summer. So, I guess our annual rainfall is sufficient for them. But the one I killed is against the house under the eaves, so no rainwater there really. I must say, I wish I could thank that rabbit for the clematis trimming because that vine is exploding with growth now. It actually needs to get tied up because it's flopping right over away from the support.
Our neighbour came over today and we loaded everything up on his trailer, he's going to burn everything at his camp. It was all cut up into manageable pieces. DH did all the worst work as usual, cutting roots with a saws all, the chainsaw, using a come along - all the while feeling cautious about the gas line lurking below. Now, it looks like several small bombs have been detonated in the lawn. So, levelling and landscaping and reseeding the lawn next.
