Hopefully someone can help me with this...

I've lost some major branches on both my Lavender Lady and caerulea. These were 10 - 15 foot branches with flowers and buds, and other branching shoots, that seemed perfectly healthy. Suddenly, they just wilted and appeared to die. The rest of the plant looks great.

Down at the base of the branch, just where it attaches to the main stem, the branchÂs stem appears to have dried up and died over about a two inch length -- it is brown, dry, and brittle over this length, but then green from there. Both of these plants are growing in pots. The branches I lost were in each case attached to the main stem about one inch above the soil.

I'm guessing it's a fungal attack? Or perhaps a bacterial infection? I really don't know. Does anyone know what it is?

It looks like it is about to happen again on my caerulea, on another of the main branches, and I would really like to prevent it, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help!

-Jon