Question
I seem to have a recurring problem with some of my annual plants.  Each year I
lose a handful of plants.  It seems very random and does not affect one
particular area of my garden.  One of three-four plants, african daisy,
snapdragon, etc., will start wilting and eventually die.  The others surrounding
this plant remain healthy.  Is this bacterial wilt or something?  Anything I can do?

Answer
Kim,
Wilting from newly planted annuals can come from several causes - I'll list them and you can decide which might apply.  Be aware that it might be a different problem for each plant - not the same for all of them.

Wilting happens because a plant can't get enough water through it's veins to the leaves to keep them plump...if not enough water is being delivered from the roots and the stems, the leaves wilt.  Any of the following can cause this to happen:

If the roots are kept too wet, they will rot, and even a slight amount of rot on small root balls (new plants) means that the water can't get up to the leaves.

Or just the opposit - if the roots dry out, the water can't get to the leaves.

If the stem is damaged it will prevent water from flowing up to the leaves - stems can be eaten at ground level by slugs, pill bugs, earwigs or other insects, they can rot at ground level because the soil is so damp around them that fungus causes the stem tissue to collapse and so the water no longer flows up the stem, or if the stem was squeezed a bit too hard or bent when planting, the same thing can happen.

Fungi and bacteria are usually fairly host-specific...that is, a particular fungus or bacteria will tend to attack a particular plant.  So it's unlikely that you'd see this being a problem on several types of plants.  You might have a fungal problem on one plant, but it could be one of the above reasons for the rest of your varieties.

I'd do the following and see if it helps: plant as usual, water the plants in well, and then don't water them again until the top of the soil starts to look dry - water deeply again and again let dry out a bit before watering again.  Also, don't fertilize with liquid fertilizer until plants are already established for a week or two.  (You could put down time-release or organic fertilzers when you plant, but don't use a liquid until the plant has started to form good roots.)

all the best,
C.L.