I have two Aster Oblongifolius. Last year they were spectacular in fall. They are two years old, and actually they are one plant that was divided last spring.

This spring, one is coming up and looking fabulous. The other one, not so much. It seems to have a lot of stems turning brown and dying out in the center. I cut out the dead stems once a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday there were more.

Two questions:

1) Does this sound like Aster wilt?

2) If so, here is my quandry: I really need two of these for this display. Do I dig up and trash the one that has wilt, then divide the other and replace it? Or would it be plant homicide to put a new Aster division in a hole that formerly housed a plant with wilt?

I'm not even sure if it's getting too late to divide. The healthy one was up about a foot when I pinched it back to about 6" a week or so ago.

If these are going to be finicky and prone to disease, maybe I need to rethink and put something else there. I need something about 1.5 to 2 feet tall that blooms in fall. Pink, purple or yellow. I was thinking maybe Moonbeam Coreopsis if Asters are going to be a pain. What do you think? Thanks!