peter wrote:

Many thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

I think that this one will do fine if it is cut back a bit next spring,
and might even put out some new stems. You might want to identify what
kind of clematis you have, which should help you out in determining what
to do next.

In the meantime, pamper it so that it stays as healthy as possible.
Clematis like having cool feet, so mulch it well, and since they are
pretty heavy feeders, use a slow release fertilizer. Something high in
Phosphate (middle number in NPK) is good, or you can use something like
bonemeal. Although they look fragile, an established clematis can be
quite tough, so I think that it will do fine once it receives some TLC.

I've found tons of good information on the Clematis forum of gardenweb
(http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/). There are a lot of clematis
lovers there with a great deal of experience, and they could probably
give you better guidance.

Good luck,
Suja