Question
Myrtle surrounds the tree in my yard. They have been an excellent ground cover for years. This year the blooms were just fine, but now the leaves are withering and appear to be dying. What should I do?  

Answer
Hi Homer,
Thanx for your question.  It sounds like stem blight.  I found a link for you to study.  You may want to take a sample to your horticulturist at your county extension.  If you don't know how to contact him/her (it's a free service of your state university's agricultural college and each county in your state has an office)let me know your county and state and I will send you contact points.  Here's the link:
http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/diseases/series600/rpd640/

I hope this helps.
Tom