not familiar with this plant..

but it looks like someone walked on it .. any chance of that???

where are you.. big city.. are you in drought ... what is different than last year ... that might cause this??

take a hand trowel .. and dig inside the plant.. an hole 3 to 6 inches deep ... AND FIND OUT ABOUT MOISTURE within the root mass .. water accordingly ... [boy 'an' doesnt seem right there ...] .. just kneel down.. and reach in a foot or two.. no need to walk to the precise middle ...

if your wondering about water .. the answer ALWAYS starts with.. wait for it.. dig a hole ... followed closely by .. and find out ...

ken

oh and btw.. while i was on my knees.. i would probably whip out the pruning shears in my back pocket.. and just take a minute to snip out the brown stuff .. and while i am there ..... see if i might not find any more clues ...

brown stuff in august should be all that surprising .. and is usually not a deal big enough to panic over .... and in august.. a few extra drinks never hurt anyone... water for the plants of course.. your fave for yourself.. but at least wait until its 5 oclock.. somewhere anyway .. lol

ken