Water Your Plants!
May was cool and unseasonably rainy, but June has been hot and disappointingly dry. Last time we checked the weather no significant rain was predicted for the next 10 days. Yipes. Check on your plants – your vegetables, your ornamentals, your newly planted trees, shrubs, and everything else. We all get in a hurry and put off watering our plants – but when you look up and a plant is on death’s door it’s past time to pay more attention. When you notice a severely wilted plant, drop everything and water that plant deeply. Plants are resilient. They want to live. But even humans can go only so long without water. Plants that are severely wilted can often be saved by watering very deeply multiple times so that the soil is fully saturated. The echinacea pictured here did bounce back after some focused attention and a second follow-up watering. When it’s hot and dry it’s a good idea to give everything in your garden a satisfying deep drink of cool clear water – not just a quick spritz.
A few hints:
- In hot weather, hanging baskets may need water twice a day.
- Container plants & raised beds dry out more quickly than plants in the ground.
- Water any newly planted trees, shrubs, and perennials deeply to the bottom of the root ball 2-3 times weekly for the whole first year and during dry periods thereafter.
- Use a watering wand (a staff favorite!) to water more quickly and more deeply (not the gun type).
- To prevent foliar disease, water in the morning at the base of the plant.
- Drought-stressed plants are more susceptible to insect damage and diseases. Powdery mildew throws a party when the weather is hot, humid, and dry.
- Consistent moisture helps prevent issues like blossom-end rot on tomatoes.
- After watering, mulch around your plants to retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds.
- If you are leaving town, ask a neighbor to help water. Before leaving, water heavily and move your potted plants into some shade for protection.
- Time how long it takes you to fill up a 5-gallon bucket with water to help determine how long you need to be watering each plant. If it took you 3 minutes to fill up the bucket and you are watering a 5-gallon plant, then you’ll want to water that plant for about 3 minutes.
- Rain gauges help determine how much rain actually fell (we usually over-estimate).
Mulch, rain gauges, watering wands, and Fitt Force Pro Hoses are available in our garden shop.
