I planted this in early spring and it thrived, new growth & flowers, until a week ago when the leaves began to dry out and wilt! Any suggestions? I'm continuing to water as before hoping this is not the end! Thanks for your help.
Inspect original soil ball for dryness. It may be resisting wetting or losing moisture to surrounding soil, due to textural differences. This is a principal reason why liberal amending of planting hole backfill began to be discouraged by nursery and landscape practices researchers some years ago (probably first noticed in a formal research setting during 1969). Lately the advocating of removal of potting soil/field soil (bare-rooting) at planting has also emerged. The objective is to leave the plant sitting in the same soil texture throughout its entire potential rooting area, as it would usually be in nature. Pockets or zones of different soil textures tend to affect how water moves into and out of these areas. Constantly losing water to surrounding soil during drought or sitting in a puddle during wet is detrimental to most kinds of plants. A newly planted specimen installed with an intact potting or field soil rootball, in a liberally amended planting hole surrounded by unamended existing soil will be liable to be subjected to three different soil textures in a small area.
