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Why did my larkspurs yellow and fall over this spring?
A few months ago, a viewer had problems with her larkspurs that wilted and just keeled over, even when she was watering. This is a very common problem in spring when temperatures start to heat up. It can be very confusing. You see the plants wilt, so you water them. Actually, the plants are wilting from the heat, not from lack of water. Then, when we water and water, we cause them to rot. When you pull them from the ground, you'll notice that they have a very sparse root system that may even look a bit mushy. It's a common problem when we establish big thickets of plants that are grown very close together (as we often do to create big stands of annuals).Since they're very close together, there's very little air movement, which inhibits water from evaporating from the ground. That's great, but it also means you don't need to water so much. This can also be a problem in summer. So, check your soil before watering those clusters of plants that wilt in the afternoon sun. Clay soils hold more water than rocky or sandy soils and won't need water quite so often.
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