Have you watered?

Could have skipped the compost. It thrives in "poor" oil.

Yes, I have watered. You can see the drip line in the picture. All of the newly planted plants have received the same amount of water via the drip irrigation system. Usually I associate yellowing leaves with over watering or not enough sun. Since the other plants, such as lavender, are thriving with the same amount of both, I'm puzzled. I'm leaning towards guessing too much water for the silver sages?

I added compost for everything because several of the plants I had tried previously that supposedly tolerate poor soil didn't do so well. A neighbor who added compost had much better luck.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Not the best time of the year to plant anything except heat-loving tropicals, really. Summer heat is hard on plants trying to establish themselves--in CA, late winter and early to mid-fall are the prime planting times.

It's not drooping, at least. If a heat wave is expected, rig up some temporary shade to reduce stress. A newly planted plant needs regular water to establish, xeric or not.

Yes, definitely not a good time to plant. But when I waited until fall last year, many of the plants I wanted were no longer available. I had made a whole plan for the front yard which was newly converted from grass and I had to scramble to find some plants, while others were completely unavailable and I had to redo my entire plan. So I decided to go ahead and buy and plant now while I could still get things.

We have not had a hot spell since these were planted. We watered them in when we planted and watered each day for the next two days. Since then I have watered every other day as I know things do need water to get established. The lavenders and silver carpet planted at the same time are doing just fine with this amount of water.

Are you suggesting not enough water for the silver sage?

Are you sure it is Salvia argentea? The leaves look a bit too pointed and not fuzzy enough.

Could have been mislabeled at the nursery I suppose. I certainly wouldn't know if they got it wrong.

Anyone have suggestions for how to help these plants?

Stick your finger down into the rootball. Soggy or crispy?

Thank you for that suggestion! I am sorry I am slow to respond. I wanted to check over a period of time--just watered vs a few hours later vs a day later. I'd say the soil is drying out pretty fast. It was quite dry in the evening after being watered in the morning. So maybe the compost was a good idea after all, as I suspect it would be drying out even faster without the amendment. I'm going to take that to mean I should water more until the sages are better established. Hopefully that will help!

Sometimes the rootball gets dried out and won't rehydrate. The water effectively runs off, so check it right after you've watered. You may have to temporarily move the emitter.

Thanks!

I doubt it's S. argentea.

Even so, it's likely the original rootball haa dried out. That's where you need to check for moisture early on.

ANd unless the dripper is right n the rootball at this time -- not to the side or nearby -- the rootball is dry.

I also have drip. I find that I must hand water te individual rootballs for 10 to 14 days after I put in new transplants.

Thank you again. Extra water seems to be helping.