Quick tips for helping your garden survive the hottest of days

Before the heat hits……

-Water your garden well in the evening and or very early in the morning of the day of the extreme heat.  Program your irrigation systems to come on at 6am or even earlier.  Water all areas for as long as you can before the heat of the day hits them.  Watering when the sun is on the plants doesn’t really achieve much and some foliage will burn.

-Thoroughly water potted plants – these will be the first to dry out. Move any smaller potted plants to shady areas or put saucers underneath pots.

If the potted plants are too heavy water well in their location and sit in saucers of water.

-In the hot conditions do not apply fertilisers, insecticides or fungicides.

-Don’t attempt to plant out any new plants whilst temperatures are high- really unless you are 100% committed to watering and have high quality organic soils. Avoid planting in this region until autumn.

-Avoid pruning hedges especially small leaved plants such as Buxus as they are at risk of burning.

-Don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated, covered in sunscreen and wear a broad brim hat.

To help your garden recover from the hottest days….

-There is no point in doing much watering when the sun is bearing down on the plants.

Once the sun has gone off the garden or even better at night start to hand water or use your irrigation system on all plants and lawn areas.

-If you’re hand watering also washing down the foliage of the plants as well will help cool the plants down. Even a fully drought tolerant garden will enjoy this water.

-I would try to water again early the following day after a very hot day.

-Top up all saucers of water.

-Don’t forget about your indoor plants too. Warm days will heat up indoor temperatures and then using air conditioning or fans can further dry out the air.