Don't let the summer heat cook your garden!

Sea Hollies

It's been viciously hot lately, with no signs of letting up any time soon.  Are you taking care of your garden?  When conditions are this severe, even well-established plants that don't normally need much water can suffer.  Newly installed plants will need extra careful attention as well...more so than ever before.  Here are some tips for helping your garden survive the dog days of summer:

• Test the moisture levels of potted plants daily.  Pick up the pot...it is light?  Stick your finger into the soil, up to your knuckle...is it dry?  If the plant requires moist soil, keep it moist, but take care not to overwater plants that thrive in dry conditions or just need to dry out between waterings.
• When watering individual plants, water the roots and base of the plants, where the water can do the most good, not the foliage.  The leaves on some plants can develop a fungus when wet or are prone to burning from the magnifying effect of the droplets and the sun.
• Take care not to go overboard by over-watering plants that don't need as much moisture.  You can kill a plant just as quickly from over-watering as under-watering.
• Water early in the morning or after the sun has set to allow the plants to soak in the maximum amount of water before it evaporates.
• In this kind of heat, drip lines and soil soakers are more efficient than sprinklers that spray water into the air.  Air born droplets don't penetrate the soil as well as the direct soil hydration.