'Water wise' or drought tolerance is never immediate regardless of plant type and a few weeks after planting is not anywhere close to the plants being properly established. You are unlikely to realize that situation until next season and routine deep watering will be necessary until fall rains take over.

btw, the water usage on these hybrids is listed as 'moderate' so just how drought tolerant they may be is up for discussion :-))

Yes I realize they will need more than usual watering while getting established- but my concern is that the brand new impatiens (in full afternoon sun none the less!), double knockout roses, and verbenas next to them don't wilt and sulk everyday....they are thriving so I must be doing something wrong with the echibeckias.

Hi Christina,

I suspect they are just adjusting to the change from being in a more sheltered location in pots at a nursery or garden center to being put in the ground. I don't think you're doing anything wrong. I generally do not put anything new in the ground after May because our combination of high temperatures, crazy humidity (lol, sometimes crazy high, sometimes crazy low) and wind can be really tough on newly transplanted plants. We hit our first 100-degree day in May here, and I have to be honest and say that I don't even want to be out in my own garden in this heat, so imagine how the plants feel. (grin)

Since you're in an area known for its soil and agriculture, I hope that you have some of that sandy loam found near Lubbock and not the really fine, really fast-draining sand. From photos you've posted in the past, it doesn't seem like your soil would be a problem because your yard looked gorgeous in those photos.

I do wish that your plants had morning sun and afternoon shade instead of the opposite, but we don't live in a perfect world and have to work with what we've got. Are the plants in an area that faces west? south? I find the western exposures really challenging in July and August.

At this point I think that all you can do is try to keep their soil evenly moist and do your best to avoid overwatering or underwatering. I assume they are well-mulched to keep the soil cooler and to help retain moisture. If you're really worried, you might erect a temporary shade cloth to give them some relief from the sun until the heat breaks in August or September. Sometimes that can help newly transplanted plants

For what it is worth, I always have found ecinaceas perform much better for me than rudbeckia---notwithstanding the fact that we have a nice patch of native rudbeckias on part of our acreage (but not near the house, and not in soil that is the same as the soil around the house or in the garden). Some years the native rudbeckias look great and stay in bloom a long time and other years they don't. I feel like they struggle in the heat, but at least they tend to survive, which is something that all the rudbeckias I've ever planted here have not managed to do.

Do you see any similar echibeckias thriving in your area? If not, maybe that's a clue that your summers are going to be really hard for them. I wouldn't give up on them (unless further watering restrictions push you to that point) because they're so new---they might be perfectly fine next year once they are better established.

Dawn