Useless gardener but how have I killed these in a day

[UncomfortableSilence]

I'm no good in the garden everything I plant dies, I have an amazing gardener that does a great job, garden is big and mainly hedges/green.

Thought I would plant some colour in this space and just went out and they are dead!

What am I doing wrong?!

They don’t look dead - they just look really wilted. If you’re planting in hot weather into dry soil, you need to soak the new plants in water, then plant, and then keep watering until they’re established. Water them!

They do to me! I have been soaking them lots, I'll keep persevering

Yes they need watering.

watering means LOTS of water at this time of year. So when you planted them the ground was probably dry and the water drained away. Give them a really good soak, like 2-3 whole watering cans for those plants. best to do it in the cool of the evening.

That bed will be very dry as there are big trees soaking up all the water, and it is really warm. So while the weather is warm, water every day.

What's the soil like? I always dig a bit more than needed and chuck some compost in before I plant.

What the of day are you watering them? If you're doing it during the day it will scorch the leaves. Best to do it early morning or late evening. Most plants need more water than you expect at this time of year

I water them in the evening, I wet the soil before planting but the soil was horrible, seemed a bit sandy as I got down?

Does it get any sun there? Agree soil looks v dry, trees will be soaking up the moisture.

Water them again, and cut the flowers off so that the plants put their energy in putting down roots. They'll flower again once they're happier.

Thanks all, gets sun for about half the day. I will water them a lot more and see what happens.

Are those conifers behind? They make the soil very acidic I think so that probably doesn't help. How good is the soil? If it's poor, it may be worth throwing a bit of manure on it to boost it?

The soil looks like it needs loads of compost on it, not many plants like very dry,sandy soil...

If they are miniature sunflowers they are very needy! I'm sat here waiting for the sun to move so I can go and water mine. If I forget it doesn't take too long before they look like this.

Yes conifers and caterpillar ravaged buxus, I'll too it up with some more soil.

Yes miniature sunflowers, I've done well haven't I

They need lots of water in this weather especially newly planted and in sandy soil.

You’d be better off putting them all in a large container with compost and watering them twice a day, you could put the container in the same place if you want colour there.

Oops, I thought they were marigolds ((short-sighted))! Don't remove the flowers in that case!

I agree with everyone about the soil. If they don’t survive ☹️. I’d start again, but before planting fork over and possibly remove some of the soil and any dying shrubs. If you can remove some of the current soil that would be good.
Then get some 50L bags of soil conditioner delivered and top dress the bed with that before planting anything else. If the flowers do survive that would be great and you can improve the condition of the bed over next winter, ready for lovely blooms next spring.

Thanks for all the advice, they perked up a bit this morning but look half dead again now. Will keep watering but will definitely look at sorting the ground out better next time or like you said plant them in pots.

Water them in the morning. Not just around the plants but the entire bed. A damp patch just around the plant won't last long if the rest of the soil is bone dry - it acts like blotting paper and sucks the water away in no time at all.

Use gallons and gallons of water and really soak the entire bed. As it evaporates, it will keep the humidity up around the plants, which will help prevent them from becoing dehydrated.

It’s incredible how much water is needed to actually penetrate the ground. It’s better to really soak it.

Water water water water and maybe mulch with something to help keep the soil moist. Then at the end of the season dig a lot of improving stuff in. What are the pink flowers, are they annuals as well?

They look dry! Put a sprinkler on them for half hour or so.

Put them in pots with new compost. They'll be much happier- if they're not dead by tomorrow. Otherwise get some more plants and put them straight into biggish pots. And don't forget to water them - but don't drown them either. A good soaking then leave them for a day or two at least to settle.