I am so NOT one of these great pros who have contributed on this thread, but since I live in a somewhat similar zone (I'm East Bay/Oakland hills so similar to much of the SoBay), I thought it might help the OP if they could see what a couple of the plants suggested look like on a retaining wall. There is one plant I didn't see, but I think might do well in this situation - aptenia "Red Apple" evergreen groundcover. It's rightly listed as invasive, but I have found that although it will spread "out", it vastly prefers going "down" due to the weight - once those stems get long, they're heavy and it pulls the plant to trail down. I have been surprised to find it does not root as readily along the stem as one would think (based on its invasive designation). Easy to keep under control with minimal pruning, very easy to remove. I have aptenia in two spots and in the location that isn't shown, it goes happily down a wall as far as it's got room, but only needs to be pruned back maybe twice a year on the flat side. It is much prettier than ivy and needs almost no summer water (like 1 gall per month in summer). Note that the cute red flowers attracts bees; some people find this a disadvantage. Me, I'm all for anything that keeps bees alive and happy, so this doesn't bother us. My wall is smaller, but the lantana shown (both white and purple) are in a very narrow planter box. Due to its lightweight stems, lantana is as prone to go "outwards" as it is "down". It is easy to prune - stems are brittle so they just break off. Because even trailing lantana mounds, it tends to die underneath. I have found this to be mildly annoying as a clean-up task every year: dusty and messy, LOL. Anyway, retaining wall 2001: Retaining wall plants 2004 (they don't look any different now, since I keep them pruned to stay off the driveway). LH side is the aptenia - a single stem can easily get to 5' or more. The purple lantana is in the middle, with the white lantana to its right. Both of these would easily reach the middle of the driveway if I didn't keep them cut back. I have to agree with the negative on clematis. It's a 1 month flower wonder in the Bay Area, and butt-ugly six months out of the year. I planted one and will never bother again. Hardenbergia 'Happy Wanderer' is gorgeous - two full months of purple racemes. But I did find the evergreen leaves a rather dull dark green the rest of the year. This is a big, heavy, aggressive vine. I had to take mine out because it started to travel over the fence and the neighbor hated it. It was a pretty little thing at 2 years old.... ...but only a year later, see that "hump" in the back? The hardenbergia was almost half as big in her yard as it was in mine, smothering her Bird of Paradise and euonymus shrubs: If you don't mind regular watering, there's nothing more fun than passiflower - after a few years you'll have Gulf Fritillary butterflies dancing in the sun for 6-7 months. It needs a grid of some sort, though, it needs something to hold onto to go sideways. I have both the coral and the standard purple passifloras. The GF prefers the purple very slightly over the coral, but I think the coral is much more gorgeous. This is a big vine (estimates up to 30'; I keep mine around 15') but it is very tough. I almost killed it when the planter box it's in didn't get watered while we were away on a trip. A heat spell hit and the passiflora shriveled down to a single stem of tiny leaves. It's recovered completely and is back to its big bully role once again. There's a lot of dead undergrowth to the passifloras over time, but not as bad as the lantana. There is one other evergreen vine I use but I wouldn't recommend it - Solanum jasminoides. Carefree and needs little water, but it gets super thick/dense very quickly and really requires heavy-duty cutting back once a year or it goes out of control. In the right location, however, it definitely fills a need. This is what S. jasminoides looks like less than 7 months after being cut back to a 1" height. Fair amount of dead-leaf litter underneath. This one lives entirely on runoff going underneath the house. I never water it at all: The flowers are beautiful, though, and it flowers almost continuously: I have the star jasmine groundcover in my furthest back yard area. It twines with big thick stems like ivy does, and with its mounding growth is, like ivy, a roof rat palace. Doesn't take much water, smells wonderful, prefers bright shade but I've had it in partial sun conditions where it did very well. Anyway, hope the visuals help.

Currently your azalea is in good shape, with new foliage looking healthy. "make sure you water often, azaleas love water" Please don't follow these directions as the poster is in Houston TX and probably does fine with azaleas there, but this won't work in midwestern clay. As a former Ohioan, this will leave your azalea with roots deprived of oxygen from saturated soil. I would mulch around your azalea with wood chips which will help keep the ground evenly moist and will over time add organic matter. Don't put them right against the trunk, however; leave a few inches between the trunk and where the mulch starts. If you haven't had significant rain for more than a week, stick your finger down through the mulch into the soil around your azalea to feel whether it needs water. You don't want the rootball soggy, but you don't want to let it get really dry as it can be hard to get the grower's mix to rewet. You have chosen a reasonable spot for it where it gets good light, but shelter from the worst of the southern sun. This may help during the winter months. Keep your receipt and if/when it dies, get a refund. akamainegrower referred to "iron clad" rhododendrons. Your Roseum elegans is one of them. They have the potential to get huge, though, so it isn't a great foundation plant. If you can plant it in a spot where it gets lots of summer light, but a building or evergreen gives it shade with the winter sun angle, you will be less likely to get winter-burned foliage. Planting a bit high in clay, and then putting soil around the raised part of the rootball and mulch on top of that will help prevent drainage issues, since as the chips start to rot the roots will grow into the nice organic rich soil that is to its liking. You will need to renew the mulch every year or two. I didn't plant this roseum elegans (planted by PO), but it is 4' from ground level to the window sill, 12' to the gutter and the center of the plant is 6' from the house. The plant is about 20 years old.

Eyan/ostrich, the more sun a hydrangea gets, the more water it will need. After all, they are part sun plants. Full sun is usually defined as 6 hours of sun or more so I hope your plants are getting morning sun for less than 6 hours. Some hydrangeas like Oak Leaf and -I think- Pee Gees are more drought/sun tolerant once they are established, i.e., after their first year. The reason you two are seeing these problems with the ES is that the plant is losing water more quickly than it can absorb it. When that happens, you get wilting. The stems and the leaves look droopy, as eyan describes. It is a normal reaction on most plants. Then surprise! Once the sun goes down or if you water them, their watering needs are reduced so (some) plants recover. But wilting is a sign of stress and can result in dead plants; it is not a good idea to have a hydrangea wilted all the time. That is because, by their nature, hydrangeas are very thirsty plants. And recently planted hydrangeas will require even more watering attention because their root systems are not fully developed. After their first year though, their watering requirements will not be as bad as they are now. So how much watering? During the hot Texas Summer (like right now), I water my hydrangeas/azaleas/camellias between 1 to 1.5 hours using drip irrigation three times a week. Sounds like a lot but an hour of drip is about 1 gallon of water. Of course, I have to deal with 100-degree weather for several weeks/months and you do not. But, that will give you an idea. During the spring, I water twice a week for one hour. Less than that during the winter. I think that you should water the plants about 1-gallon of water AT LEAST weekly during this time of the year. You can talk about that with others who live nearby and already have established hydrangeas. Or better yet... you can measure/log the amount of water you provide and jot down when you notice wilting. If wilting continues to reoccur then take appropriate action. For example, the days when your sprinkler system goes off, make notes like 'watered for "X" minutes' in your calendar. If you detect wilting then put a note. If it keeps happening, increase the amount of water and note when you altered watering and for how many minutes. That is what I do on my annual calendar starting in mid-May. As soon as I notice wilting, that raises a yellow flag. If wilting continues then I tweak the amount of watering. Suggestion: either keep the calendar or transfer its info onto new calendars so that, next year, you know about what date the plants began to get stressed. If wilting becomes a big issue with the new ES, consider more drastic action: transplanting to a more shaded location and/or one that gets more water. Say, how about that mulch? Make sure you have mulch up to the drip line. 2-3 inches of shredded pine bark mulch works for my plants. Pine straw mulch will also work. Oh! Do not forget to reverse the process in the Fall when temps go down! For me that is around September! Make a note of that too on your calendar so next year you are prepared. Good luck, Luis

Farmerton X said "I'm sure in nature these plants do a better job of attaching themselves in a way that doesn't cause them to stay moist and rot." I saw a picture somewhere of a lot of caput medusa(? might have been bulbosa, can't recall exactly) that were growing in the wild. They had attached themselves to the bottom of the limb of a tree and were pointing downward. Any heavy rain would drain off the plants easily. That picture made me decide that if I ever get the chance to go Tillandsia hunting in the wild, I will hunt with my camera, not with a bag to collect them (too much trouble getting them through customs!). That way, with pictures I can help fans see how plants grow when they are left to their own devices. Your plant looks familiar but I can't come up with a name. I'm sure Gonzer or any of several other people will give us some clues to help you look it up. In the unlikely event that they can't, you can check the pictures at the various sites that sell Tillandsias. I do count four pups on the plant, there may be others on the other side of it. You're doing something right as the plant must feel you will take good care of the next generation .