Any indication as to where about the planet of Earth you are at ? EDIT From your other post in another thread I just found out that you are in NO. CAL valley. So then, tell us how the weather has been ? This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Oct 5, 13 at 0:25

The exact same thing has happened to my basil plant. I have had it for about a year. I re-potted it in the summer maybe August to a slightly bigger pot and new potting soil. It is now New Years Day and the plant is completely diminished,in 1 month all the leaves have fallen off and turned a goldish/black. I did try to trim the plant like 2 months ago and it was doing fine then started to flower so I pinched the flowers off and harvested some leaves leaving more than half of the leaves. No idea what has happened to the plant, some of the stalks are wood color and some are still green. helpp!

How discouraging! Your clematis may not be dead, though it may take some time to reappear. Duchess of Albany? Duchess of Edinburgh? Certain clematis are prone to wilt, particularly when younger, but will often do better once they have developed a larger root system. Here's an FAQ titled "Why have the leaves on my Clematis turned brown?" which tells what to do if it's wilt. Most folks prefer to grow clematis in a pot when they are small as you are doing, but I find it easier and I am more successful if I go ahead and plant them in their final spot, mulch well, and just keep a close eye on how they are doing. Clematis don't like the soil to be too wet, but they also don't like to be too dry, so regardless of if they are in the ground or a container, it's best to stick your finger in the dirt to see how damp it actually is. I have a tough time maintaining even moisture in a container, which is why I plant them in the ground early. Best wishes for a full recovery for your ailing clem!

Help! The biggest one i have turned black! This is how they normally look like.