One Hakonechloa macra All Gold Grass - In Decline - August 2021

I bought a bunch of All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses - Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' last Fall and then bought a few more this Spring - both times at the Morton Arboretum plant sale.   I planted six in the back and then after extending my beds dug many of them up and transplanted some to new spots.   

After a Spring drought and a tough Summer, below is what this area looks like now.  The front row has six (photo only shows five) and back row now has just two. 

Here, below, is a similar shot showing all nine back in May.  Green circles are the grasses.  I transplanted the back three closer it seems.

The one that is dead?  (or in severe decline). The back row, furthest to the left.   See below - the red circle shows the placement. 

What's the grass look like in that circle?  This - below.  Just one tiny shoot.  I'll baby it, but I think this thing is gone.

I have another one of these out front that hasn't really sprung up too much.  For now, I'm calling these things 'slow to establish'.  Maybe in their second growing season, they'll get bigger and more full.  Or, maybe it is the conditions that are to blame.