I hope it comes around for you. Did the soil dry out completely and the pot get way too hot? Maybe your clematis got baked? Another possibility would be the drainage was poor and it sat in a water logged pot. If the roots are black and falling off that is a very bad sign. Last year I bought John Warren and the vine growth died off. I dug it up in April this year and the roots were healthy. By May it had lots of green leaves and is doing great. Clematis can come back from the "dead" but only if the roots and crown are healthy, from my experience.

Wetter than with Fay I had a very very very wet yard with Fay,cannot imagine!

If there were enough parts left which were firm with green sprouts on them, chances are they will recover, if the new location has better drainage. Sounds like your original location may have had poor drainage. Rot in July is not that uncommon. I get more in July than any other month because of the high humidity here. If you think the new location still has poor drainage (is the soil wet, even on a dry day?)you may have to raise the beds. I am going to be doing that to my beds adding sand too, since I have such bad rot problems. Laetitia

Melissa, yes it's worth it to get your mix ready, even if this particular plant doesn't survive. You can always re-use the mix because the mix is very durable. Money Trees do root very readily, so definitely give it a try as Al suggested. I encourage you to get another plant, though, and you can apply everything you've learned, and enjoy a great experience from day one. Pick up a small, inexpensive Money Tree, plop it into your durable, free-draining mix, water and fertilize, and you will be amazed at how rewarding and easy these trees can be. On a side-note, I don't suggest you take the advice that Anthony is giving. Now is the best time of year to do heavy pruning and re-potting with your Money Trees. In fact, I just chopped my Pachira about a week ago. Notice how it is located in bright shade, just to the edge of where the full sun hits. For transitioning an indoor acclimated plant to the outdoors, this is an optimal location on my property.