Riverside Garden Centre here in Oliver had a *great* post on their social media about taking care of your outdoor plants in the heat of the summer, so we wanted to share that here with you as well!
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With the results of the heat wave becoming prominent in your garden here are a few tips to best deal with damaged plants and how to proceed with the rest of our long growing season.
Tip 1: check the soil. When it gets so very hot plants actually semi shut down. They may not have been using all the water you so diligently gave them and you really don’t want to drown your plants. The soil should be moist and not soggy OR cardboard dry.
Tip 2: WAIT on cutting off anything that looks wilted or dead. Wait for the plant to naturally cut off the flow of nutrients to a leaf, branch etc. Cutting this prematurely, especially on a plant you are concerned about, leaves an “open wound” that can be harder for a plant to recover from.
Tip 3: DO trim back plants- especially flowering annuals. The less of the plant there is to feed the faster is can recover and put into producing better and more flowers.
Tip 4: browning on leaves and flowers is likely from sunburn and does not mean that your plant has a disease. Check under the browned leaves- if the rest of the plant looks strong and healthy then remove the burnt leaves and damaged flowers. Your plant will recover nicely!
Tip 5: Feed your Plants! Excessive watering will wash away nutrients and your plants will need all they can get to start growing again! Add compost and mulch, use the fertilizer and soil additives you have. This is especially important for veggies and annual flowers. But the rest of your garden shrubs, trees, and perennials wouldn’t mind a little as well!
Tip 6: Be PATIENT! Your plants really want to live but it’s going to take a little time for them to recover. A couple weeks, most likely. Don’t give up right away! Just understand that gardening involves a lot of patiently waiting and times of no blooms so that the recovery can be that much more spectacular!”
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