RESOLVED: Shop-bought plants wilting severely and dying when planting in bed (Penstemon, Verbena).

Question

BELOW QUESTION RESOLVED… Just looked like it needed more water!

-Raised beds do dry out quicker and after a good dowsing the verbena perked right up! And another Penstemon I bought was floppy in the pot so I’ll stick it into my unheated greenhouse and only plant it once/if it perks up.

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Hiya. I’m in UK zone 9 and it’s above 10C at night now.

I bought a slightly sad-looking Penstemon from the bargain shop and when I planted it in my raised bed it wilted severely and died.

I removed the dead plant and surrounding soil in case there was some contamination.

A verbena plant from the same shop had been thriving in its original pot nearby. I planted this in the same position, filling the hole with some premium compost and it too has started to wilt.

The plants are going into raised beds in a sheltered spot.
Soil is free-draining and the plants were watered-in well.
My soil is generally neutral ph (but not tested this exact spot).
Surrounding plants are fine, including recently plated eryngium.
I wasn’t heavy-handed when planting but it was a sunny day.
It’s near a concrete wall (as are other nearby happy plants).

I’m anxious there may be some kind of ‘wilt’ lurking in the soil.
If so, would some dilute fungicide have any effect?

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Answer 1

That is good... Please consider the previous answer, should these start to go South as well. I'm aware that much of your country gets rain very often, so only water when dry. They are quite susceptible to root rots, so this will be a fine line between correct watering and overwatering.

Still, make sure that you know which plants are compatible when planting in crowded situations such as this. Being so crowded makes it even more difficult, since they will all be consuming water very quickly.

I'm glad you found a solution!