Bejay gives pretty good advice for So Cal gardeners, so you can't go too wrong listening to him. Partial shade here can be like other people's full sun, and full sun can be like a blast furnace. As for overhead watering, that's all I ever see around here commercially. The remaining large plot growers all use large sprinkler systems, rainbirds and the like. The nurseries that I go to all overhead water. I don't have time to sit and watch/manage a series of soaker hoses and such myself. I have used overhead spray from a hose nozzle for many years -- and during some hot spells I do water almost every day. If you wait for rain around here, or follow some kind of calculation, you will not have a garden for long. The trick is to not let the wilting of plants fool you into watering too much. Sometimes well watered plants will wilt like they are on death's door because of the intense/direct heat. Let the soil be your guide. Keep the soil evenly moist and you'll do fine. Layers of newspaper or cardboard and then a layer of mulch on top will help cut down on watering. Also, I don't plant the warm season garden until after St Patrick's Day. Warm season plants will just sit and sulk if you plant them out too soon. Still haven't planted beans and cukes yet as some mornings are still under 50*.

The weather really has been strange this year, we have had one of the hottest Junes so far, no rain to speak of (usually pours this month) we did get some rain last night. So far the Echinaceas are looking pretty good some are growing gangbusters, have lots of buds forming. Some are growing slowly but look healthy. I noticed last night Summer Sky, Double Decker, Sundown, Sunset, Razzmatazz and Magnus are the forerunners in my garden as far as good healthy growth and formation of flower buds goes. One of my favorites Twilight looks healthy, the small clump seems to have finer leaves and stems this year, I'm thinking it might need a smidge of potash. Echinaceamanic what are your thoughts on this? What do you fertilize with or do you not fertilize? I hope you are going to show us more of your seedlings this year, I remember one from last year it was awesome. Annette

Common milkweed might get two feet tall the first year, but it will take all summer to accomplish this. The root system will be growing below ground, and it is the root system that gives the plant a head start the next growing season. It makes sense to remove monarch eggs and caterpillars from milkweed seedlings, but the monarchs don't agree. The female monarchs are very capable of finding younger milkweed plants, even when they are hidden in the grass. They seem to prefer them.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I think you might be right and not fertilizing could be the problem. Next time, I'll do an experiment as Ignatz suggested: one half with no added food, the other half fed. I'll also use a plain seed starting medium. As for why it's 75 degrees, I am growing inside my house (bathroom to be exact) for lack of anywhere better. Our house has poor insulation so the heat runs nonstop in the winter, causing the temp to get kind of high at times. The bathroom is also probably quite humid given people using the shower several times a day, bumping the temp up further. I'm amazed you all think overwatering was the issue. I know how easy it is to do that, and was really stingy with water. Yes, my pots did have drainage holes. They were plastic nursery pots, not peat. Would you say that watering once a week is too much between 1-2 months old? Also: Do you think my city water might be affecting the plants badly? One source said it was high in chlorine, which seems real bad for young plants but perhaps I'm mistaken. I'll try changing up my starting pots, too. Cells to 3.5 inch pots makes sense. Thanks again everyone.