Remember Johnny Carson and his weather jokes during his opening monologue?
He may not have said the ones below, but you get the idea.
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| photo from 1075coolfm.com |
It's so hot that chickens are laying hard boiled eggs.
It's so hot that cows are producing evaporated milk.
It's so hot that birds are using oven mitts to pull worms from the ground.
It's so hot that even the artificial flowers are dying.
It's so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog.
Keeping plants healthy and alive during extreme heat and drought is more than challenging. Throw in the variables of how, when and how much water to apply and you're ready for a nap filled with dreams of January snow.
You might give these five tips a try ...
1. Water plant root zones instead of the leaves. The exception is for container and in-ground plants growing in full sun locations and near or on hot surfaces. This location is perfect for spider mites to finish off the life of a plant, especially by August. Give the plants (s) an all over gentle spray of water to dislodge spider mites. Morning is best so the foliage dries through the day.
For trees -- water out and beyond the drip line of the tree canopy. If your trees are growing in lawns, you're probably giving them enough water as you water the lawn since tree roots grow 2-4 times wider than the height of the tree. Read more on tree watering here.
2. New seedlings will need watering 2-3 times a day if they are located in full sun, over ninety degree locations. I'm talking about newly seeded lettuce or other crops you're seeding or planting for a fall harvest. Use a light weight floating row cover which helps keep moisture in and birds away from nibbling on the seeds.
3. Water plants and containers slowly. If water is dumped on the plant it can run off easily. I like to slow water our containers throughout the landscape, then walk back through and water again after they've had time to soak in. I'm a hose dragger for most of the containers -- I kick myself often for not having direct sprinkler lines installed to all the landscape containers. These smaller spaghetti lines do a nice job of slow watering provided you have the run time set long enough to give them a good soak.
For lawns, water deeply and infrequently, run the system twice through on watering days so adequate moisture gets to the root zone.
Keep in mind that cool season grasses like Kentucky blue grass can go dormant in the summer with less watering. It won't kill the grass if you water every couple of weeks. This isn't advised if you have tree roots growing through the lawn (most people do). Read more on this topic here.
Another bonus of watering cool season grass less is this will reduce the survival rate of Japanese beetle laid eggs and their early stage larvae (you know, next year's generation of adult beetles). Read more here.
4. Plants can wilt during the day. Do not assume it's the result of dry soil, wet soil can result in wilt and death from lack of oxygen in the soil. Use a plant water needle around vegetables and new plantings to see how dry it is. Or a simple poke with a screw driver, your finger, or trowel (carefully) around the plant can indicate soil dryness.
5. Mulch everything to slow evaporation and help prevent surface run off. Weeds are easier to pull too. I refuse to use landscape fabric except for a couple of areas in our landscape (dog run and between raised beds under the pebble paths). Read more here.
Stay cool out there gardeners! 😎
