For the Garden Shares Hot Summer Gardening Tips

There's no getting around it—it's HOT outside. This week I wanted to write about gardening during the hottest months of the year.

PLANTS THAT LOVE THE HEAT

1. Lantanas:  These tropical flowers don’t just take the heat, they LOVE it!    They come in all different colors and will up the tropical wow factor in any garden.
2. Hybrid Portulaca:  Don’t let their appearance fool you…these plants are tough and they can take the heat!
3. Vinca:  This is a classic summer choice and it will perform really well when the weather heats up.  No wilting here! 

WHEN TO WATER:

• LAWN

You probably have seen your neighbors watering their grass at all hours of the day.  Is there a “best” time to water your lawn? Yes! The best time to water is in the early morning hours before it heats up. You should complete the whole watering cycle during this time of day. I strongly advise against watering at night because it will leave your grass wet long after the sun goes down and this can lead to diseased grass.

• GARDEN

Follow the same rules as the grass.  However, if you have a garden that requires a lot of water when it heats up outside you may need to water twice a day. For example, my hydrangeas need two drinks a day when it’s really hot outside. If you must water twice you should keep up with your early morning watering and then repeat later in the afternoon. 

• CONTAINERS

If you splurged on those great big pots you had your eye on this spring, you’ll thank yourself this summer. Large pots will retain a lot more water than the small ones! No matter what the pot size you must keep up with watering as the temperatures rise.

The first time you water a dehydrated pot the water is probably going to shoot out of the bottom pretty quickly. Wait a few minutes and then repeat the process and this time the soil should absorb much better. Water until the pot is heavy and wet, but not spilling out of the top. Make sure your pot has a drainage hole on the bottom. A big pot might only need water once a day. The smaller the pot the more frequent the need for watering. 

FERTILIZER KEEPS YOUR PLANTS HEALTHY…

If you read my column you know how I feel about the importance of fertilizer. It really does make a difference. As you increase your watering in the summer you also need to increase your fertilizer application. Why? Well, the more often you water the faster the fertilizer in the soil is washed away. So … it’s really important to keep up! My favorite fertilizer combo is Osmocote and Miracle Grow.  Osomocoat is time release and Miracle Grow is fast acting. Together these products make a great “cocktail” for your plants! 

PESTS THAT LOVE THE HEAT

• Japanese Beetles

No one likes these creatures. It doesn’t take them long to destroy a plant. And this is the time of year they really get busy with their destruction. You’ll need a good product to get rid of them and you have a few different choices—Sevin spray or beetle traps are two very good options. I sell both. I prefer the spray, but I have customers who swear by the traps. The key is to catch the problem as early on as possible.

Stay cool. Happy Planting!!