Over the years, as garden centres have become more 'commercially minded' - well some of them anyway! - we have seen a gradual drift away from planting shrubs, trees and perennials, from Autumn season to the 'kinder' spring and summer months.
The spring and summer months may be kinder to the person planting, but it is rarely kind to the plant. During the growing seasons, the top foliage canopy is tearing away with new growth and spurred on firstly at the nursery and then the garden centre, by copious feeding and watering of the small container. The plant that you see - ie that bit sticking out of the pot - has been artificially grown by cropping methods which are somewhat similar to factory farming to be blunt! (Artificially fed, and grown in a restricted space! Sounds familiar?)
Take this plant out of it's highly controlled environment and plant it into an alien situation, and you have stress! The top of the plant (Which is basically the bit that you bought) will still want to grow, but will rarely have a good (large) enough root system to sustain it. And in any event it will take months for the constrained root system to work its way out into the surrounding soil.
It will need regular watering, and will probably be quite relieved once autumn/fall has arrived so that it can at last have a rest and get itself sorted out.
Plant in the autumn, whilst the soil is still warm enough for the root system to take a wander and the top foliage canopy is less demanding on its requirements from the root system, and you will have a much better chance of success. Together with this, you can virtually 'forget' about the plant until the first buds break in the spring. At this time the plant will have established itself a good root system, and reward you with good health growth that will not need too much attention, other than in draught situations.
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