One week after planting

An update for you -  it has been one week after planting and I am happy to say that no plants have died - so far. Both troughs are looking good on a week when the weather has been very changable. It started of at around 31C and now we are more like 20C on the balcony.

Trough 1 after a week.

As you can see by my image not a lot has changed. Everything was planted last Saturday - I watered it well. Also watered well on Sunday and Monday as they were very hot days. I did not water on Tuesday but did on Wednesday - after that they have not been watered. A couple of nights ago I noticed some dead leaves and damage parts on plants which I cut back and removed. Some of the plants which spread out have also been cut back a little. When cutting back or pruning I've got down to just above the spur on the stem. This seems to have worked out ok.

The above image shows my map of which plant sits where in the arrangement. I thought that labels sticking out of the display would spoil it and I decided against that - so I noted down the positions when planting. The good news is that the Armeria maritima Alba in trough 2 has two buds which appeared this morning - its also like I'm going to be a father - ha! Seriously though this must mean the plant is happy in its new surroundings.

Armeria maritima Alba, with 2 buds

So what next? I've left an area to stick my finger in the soil to see how damp or dry it is. The soil must drain well but not dry out - so i'm using this guide to water them.  Also, even though they are outside (and facing south) they don't always get wet when it rains. So another idea is to water them when it rains so they get a natural soaking rather than regular.