Yes - it helps if a clematis develops clematis wilt - you can often get new shoots from the base, if it's been planted deeply.

another trick when planting is to angle the root ball so its not upright, but half on its side, or even fully on its side if you're brave enough. This encourages the rootball to send out new growth, and requires part burying the existing stems at the top in order to have them showing above ground.