I bought a Clematis plant and I noticed the outer part of the woody stem is splitting, is the plant doomed?

I bought a Clematis 'Etoile Violette' plant at a "home improvement" store. The poor things were left in full sun without water and were very dry...most looked crisp and yellow, however one (the "lucky" (?) plant I spotted) was still green and looked to be doing much better than the rest. They were marked down to $3 so I thought I would try to give it a home in the new garden I was making. It is now 4 days after I bought the poor plant, I have watered it everyday and have kept it in partial sun/shade. It doesnt seem to be doing WORSE...however when I finally got the time to plant it today I noticed that the woody stem of the plant was split in a few spots...I know this isnt a GOOD thing...but is the plant doomed to die a slow death!?!





Note: I live in Zone 7b...it has been HOT (in the 90's) and dry the last week. However, it is supposed to rain for the next 24 hours and then the temps are to drop back into the 70's-80's...will this help the plant?

I bought a Clematis plant and I noticed the outer part of the woody stem is splitting, is the plant doomed?
not necassarily doomed at this point ... keep a close eye on it, but don't change what you are doing. I would think it is stressed and needs a bit of R%26amp;R for the time being.
Reply:It is not doomed even if it were to break off at the base it would start growing back.





Etoile Violette is one that needs to be pruned back to about 6" from the ground every winter because it blooms on new growth (or as professionals say it "new wood").





Water it every day until it's established, plant it in full sun - part shade (more sun then shade for better flowering), and plant something in front of it to shade the root ball, like a perennial or some wave petunias. Clematis like their head in the sun and feet in the shade. It will take about a month for it to get established depending on the whether.
Reply:i by know means consider myself a pro at gardning but i do manage to take care of 12 very large gardens and i have found that things just need more time. Plus as it grows it needs to be able to grow up something. Try to look up awnsers on it at hgtv.com or martha stuart.com. they might have better advice
Reply:I doubt it needs water every day. It is possible to over-water plants and this is a common cause of death. Especially since over-watered plants have a wilted look, since the excess water damages the roots which then can't get water up to the tops. Check the soil just under the surface for dryness before you water and then water well each time. Clematis plants like sunny tops and cool roots. Mulch them after planting or plant annuals around them to shade the roots.





Clematis stems often have a "split" look as the bark seems to be sort of peel-y. Does the foliage on that stem look OK? If so I would not worry about it at all. Even if the stem is damaged from its handling between the grower and now, it may send up an awful lot of new stems from the crown if the root is happy.
Reply:Give it time for the roots to establish. May take a couple of weeks. Try mixing up some miracle - grow %26amp; feed it once a week. It may come back %26amp; surprise you.