Has anyone else been rescuing misplanted stuff?

I've planted out several plants that looked ready to go. They've been eaten by slugs, pooed on by foxes, about to expire from thirst.
I've hoiked them out and repotted. That's not the way it's meant to be.
Real gardening is different.

 

No it isn't. A plant is struggling sometimes watering is enough, but if the slugs have a go then take it out and see if you can revive it; assuming you want it of course.

 

I always try to rescue plants whose roots have been eaten by vine weevil larvae. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes not, but it's worth a try ... they are so expensive.

 

In my experience, any pest always, always, always goes for your favourite plants. Anything you're not too bothered about - nothing.

 

I dug up a Heauchera that was not doing anything on my sandy soil put it still in pot in a semi shaded area . its now a beautiful plant and well matches those in the garden center which would cost £12.
so yes im doing this more ofton as nothing is surviving in this heat.

 

I dug up this Dahlia today, & guess what, a "teabag" was throttling the roots.


It's in a pot at home now.

 

Over the next few days I need to find time to dig up a recently planted Amicia zygomeris and move it to somewhere with more moisture around as for the last few weeks it has really struggled to get going.

 

I had to dump a load of diascia from deJager that were doing nothing but surviving. Pulled them out for a look. They were strangled by tea bags but it was bit was too late to help them. They're compost now. I didn't notice the tea bags before planting. I should've checked. Diascia are pretty bomb proof but nothing can survive the tea bag unless you're able to peel it off.
Industrialisation is great for the grower but not for the plant or the gardener.
Edit
I'm still finding ' biodegradable' tea bags from years ago in my garden. Teabag in moist soil but bone dry inside with bits of dead plant.

 

Teabags? How about this for a removal problem?

Kew Garden: Palm House set for major renovation

 

Kew have already done a similar project on the temperate glasshouse a few years ago. They are quite used to this sort of thing.
BTW for those confused by the term teabag, we mean those wrappers round Jiffy pellets that many growers use in their propagation systems. The roots are supposed to grow through but frequently they don't do this properly and the consequence is that the plants have a weak root system. If you spot this on a young plant and can carefully remove it, the plants stand a much better chance.

 

The trouble is, sometimes you miss them and then it's too late.

 

Not just tea bags. I made the mistake of planting seeds into those 'compostable' cardboard flowerpots this year. They dry out in a heartbeat, and even though hair-like roots were coming through when I planted out, and I watered of course, those particular plants were useless. They developed neither a root system or top growth, and with the other stresses this year they ended up on the compost heap. With later sown plants, and lesson learnt, I had rip the cardboard away and repot, and they were OK. Won't use again and if anyone were to ask I would say steer clear.

 

I tried them once. Never again. All these fancy new ideas I've decided I'm better if staying with the old-fashioned methods. Same with the amazing new tools. The only real advancement that I've seen is that some tools no longer have camouflage handles so you can find them before you buy a replacement

 

I use those cardboard pots for my runner bean seeds. I find they are just tough enough when wet to hold firm. The roots from the beans push through ok and by that time they are ready to plant out. Then I plant the whole pot. The pots soon rot away in the ground. I've been using them for years, but just for runners.