Hope you guys can help. Two of my clematis have random black leaves, edges then takes over most of the leaf. I don't believe its wilt (had it before) because they are randomly on different vines and only a few leaves here and there. This has been going on for a couple of weeks. The other thing is my multi-blue has some distorted buds, some not and when the distorted buds open, they only open part way or are raggedy when they open. Any suggestions???

Well, I've spent a fair amount of time fighting honesuckle and multiflora rose to keep it out of the woods on properties I've worked at. Didn't realize until I Googled it that the native wild clematis, VB and Sweet Autumn Clematis were different, and that the non native one was invasive. It's the smelly one I want. The wild clematis is not showy enough to waste space on it in my tiny, tiny, tiny urban downtown row house yard. I don't feel there's much danger of my stuff invading a pristine natural area, the best luck a seed from my yard would have is to land on some vacant urban corner. I haven't read anything about the clematis being a big problem around here, but maybe that's because it is not very commonly grown or sold in nurseries. I don't mind cutting back the upper foliage, to keep it trained along the fence. My neighbors have a grape vine trellis that they have to keep after, but the roots don't wander, just the tops. But after that rose experience, I just don't want something with root suckers, because then I have to go into my neighbors yard to pull the stuff up, and it risks disrupting things, in my yard and hers. I don't want to accidentally uproot her tomatoes or something like that. Maybe I should go with a regular clematis. I sure do LOVE, LOVE the smell of the Sweet Autumn Clematis, and the flowers are pretty too. It smells like baby powder. I have such a tiny yard, I can never decide what to plant, because I am torn between wanting stuff to eat, smell and look pretty. I had to tear out my beloved crab apple which has all three qualities, because it was overrun with rust. I didn't treat it at first because the Cooperative Extension folks said it was just "cosmetic." But eventually the whole thing became infected and distorted and covered with the stuff. And I realized that the soil where all the leaves fell would now be infected for years to come. I finally put the poor thing out of its misery. Now there's a huge hole in my garden and I can't decide what to put there. So far I am replacing the tree with a red ninebark, but I don't know about along the fence behind it and on either side.

Since it's always blossomed heavily for years (even though not growing very large, presumably from the shade), and what did grow was lush, whatever the variety is, I assumed it would grow big and with more vigor in the full sun. Soil is good - drains well, amended. It's been getting 1-2" rain water each week - June has been record rain here. I think it might be the "what's nearby" factor. It's on the fence line with the neighbor, who has a lawn service and I have no idea what they're treating on the other side of the fence. Their lawn goes right up to the fence - the clematis is only 2 inches away from the edge of their lawn. I'll just leave it be and see if it does anything in the next year or two. Would be a shame if it languishes there. Even though it didn't grow huge each year, it was always very lush and bountiful with blooms in it's old shady spot. I got "greedy" and wanted more than 2-3' - I wanted the "flower wall" on the fencing. I should have just left it where it's been all these years.

I hate to say so but it sure looks like a virus. Clematis are prone to several viruses, usually vectored by aphids or other sucking insects. The above photos look like the start of cucumber mosaic virus. And like with viruses in humans, there is nothing you can do for it. Generally, the recommendations are to rogue out and destroy the affected plant. It won't necessarily kill the plant but could cause it to weaken and even produce distorted flowers. The biggest risk is that it can spread to other clems in your garden or to other plants - it can affect a whole variety of different ornamentals as well as many edible crops. I would take a copy of the photo and a sample of the vine into your local extension office for a concrete diagnosis before doing anything hasty, however :-))