Echinocystis lobata, wild cucumber

This summer a lot has been going on so it has been a really stressful time in my life, and because we have literally 100's of plants to care for, this area has been neglected. I don't believe the browning and dying out occurred until after the spikes bloomed. I normally would have deadheaded by now, but..... My second pix shows a plant that I didn't deadhead yet, but it has not gone immediately to the state the other one is in. The bad plant has probably now most of the stems brown with wilted brown leaves - look dead to me. Neither was deadheaded yet, but you can see the difference. If I cut out the dead stuff in the sick plant, there won't be much plant left. Thought maybe I should just cut out all the dead stuff and stake the rest to make it look as good as possible, but didn't know if closing it up like that would make the plant as a whole more susceptible to whatever ails it.

you're right, ward, I found mine lying down on top of the hibiscus after the rains from dennis blew through here. I staked it with a broken shovel handle, which it promptly pulled to the ground, too. that plant is heavy. I put the handle back up and put a rock the size of a shoebox at the base of it, which is working. give this thing some swingin room, folks. ward, can you teach me how/when to collect seed from tithonia?

FOAS - I am familiar the book although it's been awhile since I've seen a copy. Many people considered it wacky even when the book came out. And by today's standards it is even more hilarious. It's a perfect book to read excerpts from at a party after a couple glasses of wine. The author is a "my way or the highway" kind of a guy, an authority on absolutely everything and I'm pretty sure he was 10 sheets to the wind when writing the book(s). He wasn't the kind of a guy you would try to have a reasonable discussion with. That said - I think he really believed everything he wrote. He wrote several other books including one titled "How to Live with a B*tch". Had to change the spelling - GW software alerted me that it had detected a "string of characters." The real book title contained the real word - long before the days of political correctness. The contents of this book are way off the charts also. It had some sex education tips if I remember correctly. Google it and see if you can find any excerpts. Another fun book to read at adult parties. You can't make this kind of stuff up! :-) Thanks for the laugh. I'd forgotten about Mr. Herter.