You have a fungal problem that has infected the soil of the bed If it has gone on for this long probably the whole bed is infected and short of replacing the soil,solarization may be your only option now. Cover the whole bed with black plastic and leave it on all summer. The heat built up under the plastic will kill the fungal spores. Next year you will be able to plant there again. Or you can try one of the fungicides mentioned below.They are taken from a University of Kentucky website I found and saved a long while ago. I tried to find the link but couldn't. I think your problem may be one of these, so I'm giving you both Southern stem blight (fungus) Symptoms: Plants wilt and die in patches in the bed. Small, brown to yellow-brown, spherical sclerotia may be observed clinging to rotted stems at the base of the plant. The sclerotia are often embedded in white fungal mycelium on the stem surface. Control: Remove dead plants and 6 inches of surrounding soil and replace with clean soil or use another kind of plant. In nurseries, PCNB fungicide can be used. Â Botrytis blight (fungus) Symptoms: Dead blotches appear on leaves, flowers, and stems. Stems may rot and plants collapse. Flower buds may fail to open. Diseased flowers decay and fall prematurely. Affected areas may be covered with fuzzy fungal growth and spores. Control: Destroy old plant debris in the fall. Avoid wetting foliage. Prune out nearby shading vegetation. Provide adequate plant spacing. Use fungicides such as chlorothalonil, dicloran, ferbam, iprodione, mancozeb, maneb, thiophanate-methyl, vinclozolin, or mancozeb + thiophanate-methyl. Read the label for lists of specific plants allowed for each fungicide.

It looks like an Alocasia (E Ears) to me. As to what type, we will have to wait until it "flowers", its technically not a flower, but anyway Ed

A tad small to make a decision re ID.

I am not a botanist, but from what I understand here are some possible scenarios why some plants act as annuals vs. perennials. - Some plants are perennial in warmer zones, say zones 7-11, but will behave as an annual in colder zones. For example, Verbena bonariensis is perennial in warmer zones, and annual in my zone, but some plants have survived over the winter in my garden when we have a mild winter, it's in a sheltered location, or had lots of snow cover over the winter to protect the roots of the plant. Snapdragons also do this. - Some plants are perennial in suitable garden conditions, but die over the winter in others - especially those that require gritty well-drained soil. They will basically rot and die over the winter because the soil is too soggy for them. - Some species of plants have different "varieties" which are naturally occuring variations of the plant in different regions of its native range. Sometimes, a variety in one region will be more perennial than one in another region. Rudbeckia hirta (Black Eyed Susan) is especially confusing, because it can act as an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial (more than 2 years). It has many cultivars ("cultivated variety") including 'Cherry Brandy', 'Indian Summer', 'Irish Eyes', 'Autumn colors', 'Cappucino', 'Toto', 'Gloriosa', etc. I WS'd a bunch of these last year, most of which bloomed the first year as an annual, and have one 'Indian Summer' that has bloomed for 2 years now. I'm dying of curiosity to see what comes back this year.