Hot weather can be very stressful for your plants. Just like us, they need special care in extreme heat. Even with adequate watering and mulching, plants can suffer when temperatures rise, but there are a few things you can do to protect plants from heat stress during the hottest part of the summer. While everyone wants to have a beautiful garden all year round, it's not easy to keep plants in good condition through the hot weather. Here are a few tips on how to get rid of your dry onesflowers and plantsYou can save yourself from sunburn and avoid heat damage in your ornamental garden!
Recognizing heat stress in plants
Wilting is the first sign of heat stress. Other signs include falling offLeaves and flowers, the curling of the leaves and dry, brown edges. Complete browning of the leaves may mean the plant has passed the point of no return. The plants can be saved if the signs are recognized early enough.
Cut off burnt or dried leaves
Our natural instinct is to cut off the heat-damaged foliage, but sometimes that isn't the best course of action. If the weather forecast for your area continues to indicate warm to hot and dry conditions with low humidity, more heat waves could be on the waydamage the plants. Brown, burnt upper leaves may look unsightly, but they are the first line of defense against the hot sun and scorching, dry winds. They sacrifice themselves to provide much-needed shade to the lower, newer leaves and branches and to keep the soil moist. So put the scissors away. When the weather gets cooler in the fall, you can prune everything away, but most heat-damaged leaves will fall off on their own.
Strengthen and revitalize the plants with a seaweed fertilizer
Seaweed fertilizer helps your plants survive the hot, dry months. They act like a multivitamin, providing important, natural compounds and trace elements for resilience and growth, especially root growth, which is essential for water absorption.
Heat damage in the ornamental garden: Shade plants
Protect sensitive and young plants from direct sunlight and dry winds with a shade net. To ensure good ventilation and exposure, do not place the net on or too close to the plants. Depending on your viewing angle in the garden, mount it on one side or above the plants to protect them from the blazing midday or afternoon sun.
Save dried flowers: Place pots and planters in the shade
Place your pots and planters in shady areas of your garden or balcony to revive dried flowers. You can group them together to provide each other shade during the hot months. If they need some sunlight, position them so they receive early morning or late afternoon sun. Keep pots away from heat-reflecting surfaces such as light-colored walls, large glass windows, and doors.
Water sunburned plants properly
Regular, adequate watering loosens the soil and helps plants develop a deep, extensive root system, essential for survival in hot, dry weather. Be sure to,not to water too much, as this can cause the roots to rot. If you are unsure about how much water to give your plants or forget to water, consider investing in a drip system as it releases water slowly and evenly over a longer period of time. Spraying water on the leaves is not efficient and can cause further sunburns on the leaf surface.
New plants and plants in planters need more water than established plants. Check the soil regularly and water when it is dry at depth.
Heat damage in the ornamental garden: Insulate the soil with mulch
Mixing organic matter such as well-rotted manure or garden compost into the soil helps retain moisture in the soil, and mulching the surface with composted bark or wood chips helps lower soil temperatures and keep temperatures more even . It also reduces the evaporation of moisture from the soil.
Mulching is particularly effective on shallow-rooted plants such as boxwoods and hydrangeas, as well as on young plants, which are more likely to be damaged if the upper part of the soil is dry. Mulching can be done all year round, but if you use it in the summer, you should water the flower bed before mulching to retain moisture. Applying a layer of organic mulch after watering insulates the soil from heat and dry air by locking in moisture, helping your withered plants thrive again.
You can use a light-colored mulch that reflects the sun's rays, such as dry grass clippings,around your burned onesto save plants.
Avoid heat damage in the ornamental garden
Choose plants that do well in hot and dry conditions, such as native plants that have efficient and robust root systems and tough, thin leaves that reduce moisture loss.
Plant before or after hot weather
Planting in spring or fall gives the plants time to develop their root systems so they can better cope with the hot weather.
