Summer temperatures have begun to soar, and the unending spring rains have abated. The shady nooks of the garden are much more inviting, and the cool of the early morning and evenings are prime times for working in the garden.
Just as the heat and drier weather is rough on gardeners, it can take a toll on plants in the landscape, too. Shallow-rooted plants can start to suffer from lack of water in a matter of days without rain. By July, if you don't have an automatic watering system in your yard and garden, you probably wish you did. If you're watering by hand or dragging hoses and sprinklers, here are a few things to remember.
How well the landscape plants (trees, shrubs, ground-covers and perennials) in your yard handle during dry spells depends a lot on how healthy they are to begin with. Trees and shrubs that have dead or diseased wood are more likely to show signs of suffering sooner that healthy, vigorous plants. Removing dead limbs, checking for disease and insect problems and applying a dose of all-purpose fertilizer, along with regular watering, is recommended.
During the heat of summer is not a good time to do heavy pruning of broadleaf or evergreen plants. Major cuts will "bleed" heavily, and the plant will struggle to produce a flush of new growth to replace the old, putting it under further stress.
To help shrubs and trees conserve moisture, be sure to keep weeds away from their base, and mulch heavily. Mulch also helps to lower soil temperature around plants.
Keep ground-covers healthy through the summer months by removing any invading weeds that will compete for water. Newly planted ground-covers should be watched closely for water needs during dry weather.
Perennial and annual flowers should be dead-headed regularly to remove spent blooms. This will help the plants use less water. Well-established perennials usually weather dry spells fairly well but may require some extra watering.
With all plants it is important to remember that slow, deep watering does a lot more good than a hard stream of water aimed at the plant's base. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation allow water to slowly and deeply penetrate the soil instead of running off or displacing surrounding topsoil. If overhead sprinklers are your only choice, watering in the early morning or late afternoon will allow more water to get to the plants before evaporating in the heat of the day. Watering too late in the evening may cause disease problems if leaves and flowers remain wet through the night.
Newly planted plants should be given special attention during dry weather. Did you amend the soil at planting time with peat moss, compost or humus? Are you watering deeply and frequently? If bedding plants continue to wilt no matter how frequently you water, reconsider whether it's the right plant for that spot.
Last summer I saw a number of trees, Bradford pears in particular, get taken out by dry weather. Yellow, wilting or dropping leaves in early to mid summer is not a sign of an early fall -- it signals lack of water. Don't let your plants get to this point.
T&D Columnist Minnie Miller can be reached by writing to her at 138 Nature's Trail, Bamberg, SC 29003.