Question
A big clump of anise hyssop agastache that came with me when I moved is in its second year in its new spot.  It suddenly is wilting, and there is brown discoloration around the bottoms of the affected stems.  Some is  patchy and about 1/2 an inch long to maybe 1.5 inches.  The stems snap off easily at the point of infection.  The weather had been rainy and overcast for a couple weeks.  Today is the second sunny day we've had.  Do you have any idea what this could be?  Thanks very much.

Answer
Dear Irene, The wet, rainy, and overcast weather is the culprit here.  Agastache prefers much drier conditions and it is not unusual to have a long standing plant do poorly when constantly in wet soggy soil.  To help this situation, see if you can dig a few small trenches to divert water away from the plant.  Then clean up the plant as much as you can, removing any rotten areas, trimming off broken and damaged stems.  Then you might want to spray the remaining plant with NEEM, an organic compound that works on insects, fungus, and spider mites and it a great staple for home gardens.  Spray the plant and then let it dry completely.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and dry out in which case your agastache should be fine.  Unfortunately too much wet weather could cause the plant to die.  I hope this information helps and please write back if you need more help.  Good luck, Melissa