I notice that you didn't have your zone in your name...but to address that..Pruning group 2 Clematis grown in the South flourish much better in less sun than the Viticellas aka Pruning group 3's..evening sun is much more intense than morning sun and watering is essential as clematis like to have their roots stay moist...if your clematis turned black then you have wilt which translated means your clematis is a baby with an immature root system and needs to focus on getting its roots established more than allowing vining to grow..You should take your pruning sheers and prune it evenly with the soil and remember to continue watering and it will emerge stronger and healthier...Jeanne
ps...Your Clematis "Polish Spirit" will be ok...make sure and pull the mulch away from the vines themselves..wet mulch lying against the vines can cause fungus problems

What do you mean prune it evenly with the soil? I'm sorry, I'm kind of new >_>

That makes sense, it wasn't in a very big pot when I got it but it was quite big so I guess that now it needs to kind of compete for water it's root system is too small for it.

If we're talking hardiness zone it's 5a. I should probably go fix that now...

Thank you very much for your advice ^_^

You are so welcome hon...having your zone in your name truly makes things go faster and answers more accurate since alot of answers are zone appropriate...pruning even with the soil line means just that..take your pruners and lay flat on the soil with the black vine inbetween the blades and cut..you don't want any vine showing above the soil..that vine is a goner and new ones will emerge from the root crown below the soil..also..when planting your new clematis..always plant them 2-4 inches deeper than the pot that they come in ..this is good because the deeper they are the more moist they will stay ...when buying baby clematis with immature root systems such as those by roseville in those itty bitty orange pots at Lowes...it's best to plant them 2-4 inches deeper with some bonemeal in the hole in a one gallon pot and dig a hole in the garden and sink the pot into the soil..bringing the soil back up around the pot...this keeps the roots in a confined area where they generally stay more moist because of the sunken pot and focuses the water where needed..the roots...pull the pot up out of the soil in about 4 months and if you see the roots coming out of the bottom of the pot then they are ready to be planted directly into your garden...people in the North have best luck using this method in early Spring moreso than late summer/early fall as your summer and falls are so short before winter arrives..I think your clematis will be fine as long as you keep the roots moist and probably in about a month you will see the vines re-emerge...

y'know, in hind-sight I probably should have taken a picture to accompany the original post instead of doing it now.

Anyways heres what the vine looked like

http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v208/127/88/709706509/n709706509_1030481_1907.jpg

and heres my pots in the back, think I overdid the mulch?

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v208/127/88/709706509/n709706509_1030483_2554.jpg

Thanks so much for all your help so far. Since I don't think I planted the Niobe deep enough in the ground I raised the ground level around it a fair bit so hopefully that will help offset it.

The only thing I'm a bit worried about though is that the inside of the stem I cut was green.

I didn't see black vine on the pics you showed..I saw "brown Leaves" which meant your clematis was just doing the typical thing that most do during the hot summer is lose moisture in the leaves and turn brown...brown leaves generally are a sign you need to water more..seeing green inside shows you didn't have wilt..but your clematis will still be fine..if anything else you helped to make it work on growing a stronger root system..please show pics next time..ok?..Jeanne

Sorry, that was really stupid of me.

Don't beat up on yourself..if anything else..they come back bigger and better than ever!!..just keep them moist...Jeanne

I think I had three clems succumb to wilt. All turned brown and have NO new growth for several weeks now. Two were planted last summer. One of those was large, 5 gal., one was a little 4 inch plant. The other was planted this spring, a very small, approx. 2 in pot from KOI. I guess I should try cutting what little brown stem there is off. I'm wondering if I should try digging it up to check on the roots. Do they usually come back from a wilt episode?

Julei, yes they normally come back from wilt after you prune. It can take a long time but that is just fine because your clematis is working on growing stronger roots. Don't bother digging them up. Just keep watering it deeply when the soil is dry and you will be seeing a healthy rebound next year. Like Jeanne mentioned above, the brown is from the lack of water and not wilt. Remember to water deeply though, not for short bits and lightly.

Thanks, Tracy. I will leave them where they are and hope they rebound like you said.
Julie

i have several clematis vines, 1 niobe,1 jackmanni, 2killan donahue, 1 from walmart no name med.lg flower purple all are suposed to be rebloomers and they grow on old and new wood. i have 1 that dies to the ground every yr. don't know the name. the first 5 were doing great this yr. lots of buds, on the don's newest best ever. we got o lot of rain, 2 wks. straight.now the bottom of plants are all brown. no name is blooming,the other's are budded but don't look good. wilt or fungus? what to do? zone 6 r.i.