Thanks Courtney. First of all, I'm not a professional arborist, so anything I've picked up over the years has either come from my own trial and error or from posts on GW and other places. Regarding mulching, I think it's a good idea to mulch all young trees if for no other reason that to help them become established. It's much easier on the trees when they can grow roots in cool, damp soil rather than in hard, baked soil. So typically when planting a new tree, either a seedling, container-grown or b&b tree, I'll mulch it. Case in point. We have large gardens bed filled with various flowers, trees and shrubs. We have them covered with 2 to 3" of pine bark mulch. Even in the middle of summer the soil under the mulch stays fairly damp and cool, perfect for roots. However, our lawn surrounding the mulched beds is mostly yellow or brown in summer and the soil is extremely hard and dry. I'd never try and plant anything in dried soil like that. We rarely water our mulched garden beds and everything seems to grow well. What type of mulch you use is a matter of personal taste, but pine bark chunks last longer and break down much slower than the fine hardwood mulch. Hardwood mulch is cheaper but you will need to reapply it every year or two as it breaks down quickly. For mature trees, mulching is a matter of aesthetics. We mulch our mature trees to make them "blend in" to our landscape, but that is strictly personal choice. Established trees typically do not need to be mulched but it does cut down on weeds which, in turn, reduces weed trimming and pulling and so forth. Your maples would benefit from mulch and probably establish roots quicker, but again that is up to you. If you want to know how dry the soil is, simply dig a small hole near the trees about 8 to 12" deep. If the soil down there is dry, then you know the maple roots will be dry as well. If the soil is damp and cool, then the roots may be OK and not need as much watering. Much also depends on what type of soil you have and how fast it drains. When watering, remember that occasional deep watering is better than frequent shallow watering. Shallow watering will benefit lawns but typically doesn't get down deep in the soil where the tree roots are. Fertilizing is a difficult subject as everyone has their own opinions on the topic. You can use the spikes if you wish or you can use a general "balanced" garden fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 and apply a couple times per year. If you want to go the organic route you can skip the fertilizers and apply a top dressing of composted manure either in the spring or late fall. Both ways have worked in my experience. Again, just personal taste. HTH Dave

First, let's start with the same suggestion that virtually every new poster to GW will engender - include your location and/or climate zone with every post OR change your profile to reflect it. You will get much faster and more complete answers that are appropriate to your specific location, if we know what it is. Second, with any plantings, you can't water to a specific schedule. The frequency of the need to water is dependent on soil conditions, siting and weather. When you do water you want to water thoroughly, so the water can percolate down through the soil profile the full depth of the rootball. Third, the hydrangeas appear to be planted in amongst a bunch of weeds or weedy grass. Why are they not in clear planting beds? Lawns, weed grasses and weeds can easily outcompete young, newly planted plants for both soil moisture and nutrients, delaying proper establishment. A defined, clear planting area surrounding the plants (or a single planting bed that contains them all) that is kept free of weeds and grass is preferred. And this should be mulched, both to keep any weeds down and to insulate the soil and prevent evaporation. The leaves of the plants don't look too bad - a little off color and a few showing scorched tips - but overall they look as though the plants are receiving adequate water. The browned or withered flowers are just flowers that have passed their prime. They can be removed to improve the plants' appearance. Depending on the type of hydrangeas they are (another useful piece of info we lack), they may not produce any more flowers this season. Hydrangea macrophyllas that bloom on old wood (the vast majority of them) create flower buds in late summer or fall of the previous year. Once those buds have bloomed, that's it for the year. Reblooming macs (those that bloom on both old and new growth) can generate additional flower buds in season but young, new plants like these are not so much inclined to do so until fully established. The offcolor of the foliage and the faded flowers could indicate these plants are receiving a bit more sun than they'd prefer. This is not a deal breaker but something to be aware of and to work to offset. Or you could relocate these plants in fall to a shadier location (morning sun only) and plant more sun tolerant panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata cultivars) in their place.

Too much water/not enough drainage/ill-suited soil, but I think there's enough light, so if you change the other three, you'll have some nice Kalanchoes (?) soon.

You'll need to find a larger size of perlite (not rocks). I buy size 2 at the organic gardening/hydroponic store here in town. The size two seems big at first but breaks into smaller pieces very easily (dont break it apart on purpose though, you want it in bigger pieces.) Be sure to sift and rinse it, otherwise the dust on it can gather at the bottom of your pot and create a swamp that stays soggy, like sand does. I would like to warn you against purchasing the Miracle Grow brand of perlite. It's like they used all the good pieces and bagged up all the fines to pass off as perlite. It just turns into a mushy, soggy mess unless you sift it and then you can only use ~1/8 of the bag as the rest are fine particles and unusable. Total rip off. As Russ said, you'll need at least 50% of the mix to be perlite (you can use perlite mixed with chicken grit [crushed granite] to make up this half of the mix but the grit can get very heavy if it's a large container) combined with 50% or less of the cacti and succulent mix you buy, if it's based on peat (sphagnum peat or coco peat, which is what most people think of when they think of potting soil, very small organic materials). Little jab: and I thought my pictures were bad! If you're using a phone, you should be able to click on the item you want it to focus on and it'll focus for you.