What can stop my cone flower and black eyed susan wilting?
Question:Hi i just need a bit of advice regarding some plants i have recently bought. The plants in question are black eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta i think) and Echinacea purpurea. They are planted in good soil that is well drained and they get full sun. The problem i'm having is that during the day they tend to wilt and the leaves curl, almost as if they don't have enough water, the cone flowers are particularly bad. They get watered regularly and i've read that this might be the problem, are they getting too much water or is it something else? thanks for any help you can give me.
Answers:
Cone Flower and Black Eyed Susan's are very drought tolerant, once established. You will find that Black Eyed Susan's will look wilted in full sun at the end of the day in summer even when fully established. That is just the nature of Black Eyed Susan.
Until they are established you will need to supplement their watering. Just don't over do it. Let the soil dry a little between watering. Use your finger to check the soil moisture. When the top 2-3" of your soil is dry, but he soil below that is moist, you should water. Deep and infrequent watering is always the best and encourages deep roots. If you water every day you risk root rot, a condition that can cause leaf wilting and ultimately death. Frequent, shallow watering will encourage shallow roots. Monitor the soil moisture levels and you should be OK. Remember that these are native prairie plants that have adapted to hot, dry summers.
Don;t know really only water them every 2 days.
If the problem is water, the best thing for you to do is to make sure they're planted in GOOD QUALITY potting soil. Not only is it loaded with nutrients, but, more importantly, it time-releases water and nutrients to the plants to make sure they don't get too much or too little water. This way they get what they need when they need it. You can probably have it delivered by calling 1-800-TOPSOIL or checking www.1800TopSoil.com to see if they have a member in your area. They're national. Good luck!
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