Confused: Coneflowers/Echinacea & Proper Watering

My 2 coneflowers emerged from the ground about 6 weeks ago. They are planted on opposite ends of the 15 foot walkway. One receives full sun from 10am to 3pm and late afternoon sun for about an hour around 6pm. The other receives full sun from 1:30pm to 5pm and filtered sun after that. The bed has loose, well-draining soil, and is more often than not on the drier side. I am unsure when I should be watering them. We have had temperatures ranging from the 80's to the low 90's and sunny days with very few clouds this month. The last decent rain we had was 1/2 inch on April 30th and before that we had 3.45 inches on April 18th. We have only had 0.4 inches of rain during the month of May.

Sometimes, the leaves wilt, but perk up once the midday sun is off of them. After a week or so of this weather and no water...I have watered them. The next day, one or two of the lower leaves are yellow. However, if I don't supply them with water after a week or 10 days, one or two of the lower leaves turn yellow. So...how often should I water them and what is the best time of day to do so? Is it normal for them to get yellow leaves after being watered? I'm so confused.

I cant imagine myself going by the water chart you have , the rain fall here is almost constant for the best part of winter and at least on a regular basis the rest of the year, you would think by that, I would never have to water my garden but believe me from end of May to end of July, it need watering almost every evening so, it's not so much the rain fall you get, more a story of, where the rain lands, the soil type, the additives added to the soil to help retain the moisture and in some cases, the thickness of the mulches you lay, AND ofcourse the light, temp and all other stuff required for the plants you grow.

The wilting is a sign of a plant under stress, as you have realised, the heat is unforgiving and the dry soil aint helping.
These plants enjoy dry conditions BUT maybe NOT as dry as they are receiving in the position they are in.
The yellowing of the bottom leaves are not really bad as you think, normally the bottom couple of leaves are lost at some time or other and the plants don't miss them however, IF the plant looses their leaves traveling up the stems, then you need to act quickly to rescue the plant as best you can depending on cause. I would say the leaf drop is part natures way of saying reduce the amount of foliage the roots need to support and drop some off,
So really your doing all the right things by keeping a close eye on the plants, water when required by checking how dry the soil is by sticking your index finger into soil and if very dry, give a water. DONT water the top or foliage of the plants but soak the soil at the roots. IF you soak the foliage in that kind of heat your setting the plants up for fungal diseases like Mould etc.

IF the plants continue to suffer as the hot season goes on you might have to fix up a temp shade for them, a couple of garden canes and a net curtain set either behind or above the plants depending on the way the sun hits, you can remove this easy when not required. BUT I would say your doing all the right things and try NOT worry about inches of rain fall instead concentrate on where the rain has watered and has it penetrated the ground or ran off the surface and NOT reached the roots.
Hope this helps you out a bit.
Best Regards.
WeeNel.
wEEnEL.

The wild Echinacea is relatively drought tolerant. I am not sure about the cultivated varieties, but I would tend to keep them a bit drier rather than too wet.

Many plants will wilt in the extreme heat, even when there is some moisture in the soil. The sun is simply making the leaves lose water faster than the roots can take it in. Very common with squash plants, less common with other things.

If the plants temporarily wilt on a hot day, but recover as soon as the sun is gone (few hours) then that is OK, but check the soil for moisture. They probably do not need water.
If the wilting happens on a milder day this is not good. They need water.

Diana, so far they have always recovered after the sun is off of them...usually within 30 minutes or so. When I stick a finger in the soil about an inch or two from the crown, it is very, very dry. Should I only water them if they don't perk up before dark? Or should I wait and water them the next morning if they haven't perked back up?

WeeNel, I never water the leaves of my plants. I have soaker hoses in my beds. However, in the bed with the Coneflowers, I didn't place the soaker hoses near them, because I didn't want to give them unnecessary water when I watered the rest of the flowers in the same bed. So, if they get water, it is either from rain or the hose. I don't water by any specific chart. I was just letting you all know how much rain/sun we have had lately so you'd understand my situation. As for rain...this flower bed is fully exposed above and gets no runoff from the rain as it is raised about 2 inches higher than the sidewalk and edged with a tan stone border. The mulch is a combination of shredded cypress and shredded cedar and only about an inch thick. As for the soil, originally, it was pure sand. But last September, I removed 1/3 of the sand and added composted manure and organic garden soil and mixed it really well.

It rained some last night and is supposed to rain the majority of today. We are expecting about 2 inches. So, at least I know I don't have to water the coneflowers for awhile :)

Thanks for replying Diana and WeeNel! :)

Hi Savvy, sorry I confused you re water run off, what I meant by RUN OFF was, in summer especially when we have lot's of dry, hot weather, even in a bed full to busting with plants, the hot air dries the TOP of the soil and this in turn allows a crust to form, so when we water or it rains the water CAN run off this crust, the roots cant capture this rain fall or watering from hose, so we need to make sure we either hand rake / fork LIGHTLY, just to break the dry crust, we should not bring soil UP from under the top soil or we will just dry out even more of the soil in the hot weather. As you have a kind of border around the plant bed, I would leave the hose running for half hour, move it further on the bed and then DONT water for a few days, whatever watering we do or rain that falls, the moisture runs through the soil or off the surface and it's hard for the roots to be able to soak this moisture up. I know these plants you are talking about like drier conditions BUT too dry causes them the flower and make seeds as fast as possible, but what you want is to help them last a little longer in flower and give off a better show. All I'm saying is, TRY it out, IF it's NOT working, go back to watching the wilting foliage, there's nothing lost except a shorter growing time.
Best regards and good luck, hope it all works out.
WeeNel.

I would not wait until the soil is that dry. Even though the plants can recover when they start to wilt like that it is better if they don't.

Water. Deep soak. Mulch.
Then see if they do that temporary wilting.
Monitor the soil moisture, and water when it is dry on top, and getting drier down about 6" (established plants).

If the water does not soak into the soil there are products you can use to help.

Run the hose or sprinkler long enough to get the soil wet deep down, at least a foot, and deeper is better.

Mulch to keep the soil cooler and moist longer.

WeelNel, ok, I understand what you mean about the runoff. I have experienced that before in another flower bed and had to do exactly what you said about raking lightly around the plant to loosen the top of the soil. Thankfully, I don't have that problem in this bed...yet.

Diana, I'll do what you suggested. Thanks for the advice.