Dead clementis?

Earlier in the year I posted about the death of my Montana. Planted over 45 years ago, had grown over the top of a rose arbor and producing an incredible sight! Suddenly no growth!
Anyway we've been pruning it out and chipping the stalks, we'll my 'gardener', my dear wife, had reached the main stalks, so I struggled up with saw and big snips. The 'stalks' were 3" in circumference! Very dry as we'd chipped a lot. Obviously the plant had originally threaded itself through the trellis and now filled the spaces! So couple of hours later we had it in a heap of bits!! The roots took very little digging out. My surprise was the general thickness of the stems. Talk about 'Jack and the Beanstalk', reckon it could have been 'Monster and the Montanna'!!
My main worry is of course the soil. Although there are still other plants growing well, roses, climbing hydrangea, ivy (which we've dug up) so perhaps nothing wrong with soil, BUT of course I've bought another Montana to plant!! Could be losing what is a great plant from Ashworths (wedding anniversary visit, great food as well!!) Still only a Montana will take over, - the climbing hydrangea has really shot ahead this year having been planted at the same time as the original clemantis!

 

Very good for a plant over 45 years old.

 

Agree! The point about the soil was one of the reasons I posted actually! Also of course the Tree-like nature of the thing! Must be said what I've seen all these years is this 'pride-and-joy' clematis DOME every spring!! I had also encouraged it to spread to our Scots pine. Eventually I discouraged this part but it grew for some years before giving up the ghost completely!! I've thought about taking the 'pile' to my son's wood burner! Easier to smash and chip it though!
As I mentioned the death of the clematis has encouraged an equally elderly climbing hydrangea, amazingly fecund this year.
Regarding the new clematis 'catching' whatever killed the old one, the experiment will cost £12 odd I paid for the 6 shooted new plant!!