Oops, here's the pic.

Anyone else want to take a shot at this? I'm stumped...

Never mulch to the base of a plant. It doesn't matter if it's herbaceous or woody. The mulch will encourage rot. If you have clay soil rot is more likely to occur.

Gah! Yes, its definitely clay. So would I be better off throwing in the towel in your opinion? They don't completely die, they just keep on looking like this.

Found this on the Internet:

"Gaura lindheimeri is best grown in sandy, loamy, well-drained soils in full sun. Good drainage is essential. Root rot may occur in heavy, poorly drained soils."

I'd try something else in that spot. I've tried guara many times. I've seen them doing great for others, but they never do well in my yard. Come to think of it some of the prettiest ones I've seen were in "Honey Bunny" Barbra's garden in sandy Rockport.

Any chance you have grubs there? They resume root feeding in early spring and photo seems to look more like an uptake rather than fungal problem. We had similar die-off from root damage on one end of a mature 'Snow Fountain' clump in early September (the other grub root feeding period). We had a confirmed grub problem in a nearby ruellia bed, so just treated the gaura too. Damage stopped and rosette healed well over the winter. Might be worth a shot.

We do have two growing very well in blackland clay. But individual plants can be fickle; we've had radically different results with different plants of the same cultivar in the same spot. I also cannot keep them alive in a pot for more than about 14 months... but that may have more to do with me.

I've begun to think of them more of an annual than a perennial for me. They will do great and bloom like crazy for about a year, and then they just die. I've tried them in different areas of the garden, and placement hasn't changed the odds of survival. And I have a sandy loam soil. So when it peters out, I just replace it with a new one.

Michelle

I said don't mulch to the base of your plants. Gaura will grow just fine in clay, but it needs good drainage. I watched a garden show featuring John Dromgoole who said people constantly make the mistake of mulching heavily right up to the base of shrubs. The shrubs then contract fungal infections because of the mulch.