Beginner Gardening: Elfin Thyme Dying 2 days after planting!, 4 by cellopoet

cellopoet wrote:
Please help! We are replacing our approx. 500 square foot lawn with Elfin Thyme. We live in zone 10a in Orange County, CA.

We killed the grass last fall and then amended our clay soil with compost, bone meal, gypsum and some fertilizer. It sat fallow for the whole winter and we are now planting the Elfin Thyme. Before planting last weekend, we tilled (the ground was rock hard again) and added a bunch more compost (about 1 cubic yard).

It's a lot of work and it is taking us several days to plant. We planted the first batch last Sunday, (today is Tuesday). We came out this morning to continue with the third batch, and noticed that the first batch seems to already be dying. We have watered somewhat lightly each evening, but it did dry out during the day yesterday and even though we had watered the night before, and last night, it was dry most of the day yesterday. I am not sure if the problem is too much water or not enough. I have read that they can get root rot if they get too much water, but also that they need more water the first year until they are established. They are getting plenty of sun.

I have read on several websites that people have had success with this plant in SoCal and in clay soils, so I am not sure what is going wrong. Please help! This is a very expensive and thyme-consuming (pun intended, lol) project and I don't want it to fail!

Any advice would be much appreciated. Pictures are attached.