my sad, sad looking garden

After lots & lots of research & planning I ordered a planned garden from Bluestone Perennials. I figured they could pick out plants that would work well together & I'd get more for my money since I'm starting a garden from scratch. My plants arrived 5/22 and I got them planted 5/23. I've watered regulary (sprinkler system) and a week later they all look at least half dead. I also planted a crape myrtle & a couple of forest pansy redbuds the weekend before and their leaves are shriveled and sad. What am I doing wrong??

You might not be doing anything wrong except possibly planting things at a less than ideal time of year. Transplant shock is very common, especially if you plant when your weather is getting warm. Hot weather is not an ideal time to plant things and even if you do everything right, there's a chance you will lose some things, but hopefully most of them will pull through.

The most important thing is getting the watering right--make sure you're watering enough but also not too much. I always recommend doing the finger test to check if things need to be watered--stick your finger down a couple inches into the ground near the root zone of the plant and see how it feels. With newly planted things you don't want to let them dry out too much, but if you do the finger test and it feels really wet then you should hold off. (unless you have clay soil, it's hard to overwater new plants when your weather's hot so if anything I would guess maybe they're not getting quite enough, but do the finger test to be sure). Note that even if you are giving them enough water, they may wilt during the heat of the day because their roots can't take up water quite fast enough so they wilt as a defense mechanism--typically if that's what is happening you'll see them perk up when the sun goes down and things cool off.

If your plants are in an area that gets a lot of sun (especially afternoon sun) it may also help to rig up some shade for them to help reduce the stress until their roots get going a little better. This could especially help with some of the really small ones like you show above, but it could help with your trees too. For your redbuds, I'd also check that you have them in a good location--they are an understory tree, so if you've got them in full blazing Texas sun they may never be happy so you'd probably be better off moving them now to an area that has more protection from the afternoon sun.

I agree with ecrane3 - it's just a very challenging time of year to start a new garden in Texas, especially if you're planting very young plants. Even putting a 2 or 3 year old perennial with a large root system in the ground right now would be questionable.

You're in Amarillo and you get cold snaps much later than I do in the Austin area, but you should probably plan on waiting to add any more plants to your garden until this fall and again in the very early spring so they can get a foothold before summer. Other areas of the country try to plant so things get established before winter...we need to plant to get things established before summer.

Again, I agree with ecrane - you can salvage the garden now with shade and water. Plants intended for full sun don't always handle full TEXAS sun, so set up a shade cloth especially if they are in full sun during the afternoon hours. Keep everything well watered - although too much water can kill a plant, these do not have mature root systems yet and the top couple of inches of soil will dry out in the Texas sun after just a day or so without rain. Sprinker systems are not the best way to water garden areas - they're fine for lawns, but some plants can get 'parboiled' with too much water on their young leaves when the temperature is 100 degrees. When are you watering? - (Late evening or very early morning is best) - and how deeply are you watering?

Always plant shrubs and trees in the fall in our area of the country - early fall in your area - so they can get established over the winter months.

Can you give us a link to the package you bought? - there may be other specific recommendations we can make if we know what you've planted.

Your crepe myrtle will probably survive with enough first year extra water if it's in full sun, but I second the opinion that you need to shelter those redbuds now if you've got them in full or even mostly sun. The Mexican Redbuds can handle more sun than the Eastern Redbud, and I think the Forest Pansy is a hybrid of that type, but I'd still put them in a large pot and hold them under the shade of a large tree to be replanted in the garden this fall.

Many "Preplanned gardens" sold by suppliers are not adapted for all parts of the country. Bluestone may have no idea of your soil/climate/sun exposure and have sent you plants (with the best intentions) that aren't really good for your area.
Get the redbuds into shade or semi shade. Water your plants as Mocatmom suggested, preferably in the morning.
May I suggest that when you replace plants or add to your garden, that you find a local nursery you like and ask them for advice on plants. Locals want you to succeed, because gardening is addictive and they love ($$$$) plant addicts! Also, if you run into a problem, you can take a leaf in a plastic bag, or a photo to the nursery and get help.
Don't give up--every one of us has disasters in our past. Part of the fun of gardening is learning, and we learn from mistakes as well as from successes. You will have a lovely garden to enjoy.

I agree with what everyone else has said.

This is a miserable time to plant things in TX (I'm in Austin). There are very few things that'll survive. You could pick up some salvias...those will make it. Some zinnias (they're annuals, but they'll fill in until fall). Marigolds will do alright if you keep them watered. Cosmos are ok. Hibiscus and okra (even if you don't eat it, it's pretty).

Also, when you buy things from online nurseries, the plants aren't always 'top notch'. Online nurseries also aren't too concerned with our climate here in TX. They're looking to sell to the 'majority' which is yankees with a much much milder climate. We live in a very different place here in TX..with verrrry different growing seasons (although I'm sure Amarillo is a challenge all it's own).

So, stick to local nurseries. Make a day of finding a favorite nursery. Check out the prices, the health of the plants, and talk to the people who work there...ask them if they will order plants for you if you come across something you really like. Most of the nurseries are run by people who love what they do, so you're likely to get a lot of info and help.

And don't get discouraged. I grew up farming organically, but my first summer in Texas was...er...pretty exciting (to say the least). Half of my garden sizzled, burned, and died because I planted per usual (northern climate).



Dylan

One thing the garden writers and pretty flower picture book authors dont tell you because most of them dont know is that an ounce of Texas sunshine (or NM, AZ and So Cal) is equal to a pound of yankee sun. A little Texas bragging (or complaining) there but some truth also. Most local nurseries are starting to carry Vinca now and it is extremely tough and can take the heat. Maybe you can dress up your garden with some of that while waiting to see if the Bluestone specials survive. As previously mentioned, zinnia's and marigolds are Texas tough also and so are sunflowers. Vinca gave me color in the garden through the hottest summer I experienced here in the central hill country. Lantana can live and flower on just a sip of water occassionally. And the advise to visit your local nurseries and get on talking terms with them is worth its weight in gold. Their livelyhood depends on selling you plants that will survive locally.

Do you have a list of the plants that were in your Bluestone planned garden (or a link to which one it was on their website)? Someone could look at that and tell you which plants have a good chance of surviving in your area. Although Bluestone is in a cooler northern climate, they do sell some plants that can do just fine in hotter, drier climates, but they also sell some things that may never do well in TX no matter how hard you try so if you know which ones have a chance that'll help you focus your efforts on those and not worry as much about the others.

Rule of thumb for selecting plants for your garden is to see what your neighbours are growing and what does well in their gardens, and note whether the plants are in full sun semi shade or full shade, and plant your garden in a simaler fashion.
It doesn't have to look identical to anyone else's garden just take lessons from what other people have done.