Plant leaves wilting?

Question

Two days ago I rearranged my broccoli, pea, tomato, and my two cotton plants in my garden box so that they would get better sun/looked more organized. I was as careful as possible with the roots, digging almost a foot and a half for some into the soil just to prevent from breaking even a little bit.

My pea plant moved perfectly, the leaves didn`t wilt like I had expected them to (I had had to move them once before previously because cats kept clawing at them, it started drooping an hour later but a thourough ten second soaking with the hose firmed it up within an hour). The same thing happened with my broccoli, which is fairly small right now, as the peas. By the next morning it had completely revived.

Yet my tomato and my two cotton plants, the tomato plant is huge right now and the cotton plants are both a good six to seven inches tall, have barely recovered despite practically drowning them. Some smaller leaves on the tomato seem to be back to normal, but as a whole they all just look sickly. I`m at a loss! I`ve put a lot of work into all of my plants (I also have a blueberry bush and five HUGE stalks of corn from which I harvested my first delicious ear today), and they have all turned out beautifully, but now i`m afraid i`m going to lose these forever! Help!

Answer 1

DId you know that tomatoes will grow new roots from any buried plant stem?  You might be able to bury the tomato a little deeper.  How deep is your garden box?  If it's less than 6" it might be too shallow for successfully growing tomatoes.  

Sorry, I have zero experience with cotton plants.  

Answer 2

It is somewhat unusual for you to be rearranging such grown and established plants; it suggests that you didn't properly plan your garden in the first place, or that there's much room for elementary understanding of plants/gardening. All transplanting should take place at a much earlier stage, for example, tomato plants should be 3 to 4 inches high or about the length of your fingers. If you don't like the positioning of your plants, you'll just have to live with it until the next time.

It requires a significant amount of experience or expertise to transplant grown plants. Much internal fracturing can take place within the soil around the roots, damaging them. The inexperienced mind may never realize that. That is why landscapers tie netted materials around roots of shrubs and small trees and these materials are not removed, but the roots grow through them into new soil after transplanting.

Lastly, your plants may still live, but you have to be patient. Don't fuss with the soil around the roots; you'll only make things worse. And don't over water them or the roots will rot and they'll definitely die. You can place some temporary covering over them to limit the punishing effects of the strong sunlight and water them NORMALLY. You can also support them if they're falling over with sticks stuck into the earth next to the plant and some pieces of string, tying the plants to the sticks. Best wishes.