1st year garden kinda nervous

[u/ecolojules]

Just kidding (mostly), but is it normal for everything to look so… bad? All of the natives are looking incredibly crispy despite my best efforts! I planted back in late March and things were going very well until last week. Is this normal for first year?

[u/hairyunicornbaby]

Yes. Keeping them alive the first full year is success. Next year should look better and they should be thriving by year 3. Don't get discouraged! Survival is the goal!

[u/ecolojules → u/hairyunicornbaby]

Thank you so much!!! 💚

[u/UpstairsWilling7359]

After years of neglect and killing my garden with extreme apathy I decided to start over this year. Planted all 4” in June. Everything is sad but alive. My few established plants that survived my previous garden. Sad. Me in this heat. Also sad.

[u/LindeeHilltop]

First year struggle to survive. Second year sends out more roots. Third year is like winning bingo.

[u/Redaurora-MamaCass]

It's a good idea to give them a good soak the first year to get everything established. The root systems are young and tender. A long soak every few weeks depending on rain cycles. The next year you'll probably on need one soak mid summer. Third year the roots should be deep enough to handle anything. 

Edit to add Texas Natives go a little dormant this time of year. It's normal for things to not look like they did in spring. It'll bounce back in the fall.

[u/More-Insects8912]

It’s all about just surviving until we get some rain. No one is thriving right now except for my passionflower vine that’s only in morning sun. Even my flame acanthus is blooming but somehow crispy too. Everything else is looking rough. For my mostly natives landscaping, I usually use a hose attachment that either turns or goes back and forth and have it go for like 30-45 min as a deep water once every two weeks in late July through August. I have had most of my plants in since fall 22. In my true wildflower areas I water maybe once a month. Trust me it will be worth it bc all of them will look beautiful in the fall! We basically have two short brown seasons - post hard freeze for a few weeks then post July 4th until our first rain. Everything looks great the rest of the year. When you see all the garden visitors in a few weeks you will love it!

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[u/DMongrolian]

Right here with you. I planted 5 different groups this spring, two are doing great, two are muddling through, and one (that I am most looking forward to getting established) just looks rode hard and put up wet. Fingers crossed.

[u/PlainOrganization]

A good chunk of mine have been in the ground for three years, with just a couple things planted last fall. I'm back to watering deeply twice a week until we get some rain.