Cold + Bold Canada - Sharon Murphy
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Six Keys to Garden Health in the HEAT
Let's talk about 6 keys to do to keep your garden healthy when it's sweltering.
ONE - Water Regularly
Hydration is golden to managing healthy gardening spaces in scorching temperatures. Adequately hydrated plants can maintain their turgor and fluids to support their metabolic processes. The goal is to keep soil evenly moist, and here is how:
- Check for Hydration Levels Daily
- Water Thoroughly
- For planters or containers measuring 14" across, water until you see it drip out of the bottom of the pot
- For larger containers, water generously, but it may be too much water for the plants if it drips out of the bottom.
- For flowerbeds, raised beds, and in ground plantings - create a well in the soil around the base of the plants and fill that well completely.
- Drip irrigation is an efficient and conservative method of watering.
- Water in the Morning
- Watering while it is still cool allows plants to have a good water supply all day, while watering at night can create a persistent cool, wet, dark environment that can increase the potential of developing plant diseases.
- Watering while it is still cool allows plants to have a good water supply all day, while watering at night can create a persistent cool, wet, dark environment that can increase the potential of developing plant diseases.
TWO - Fertilize Regularly
In hot, dry weather, fertilizing can be a little tricky, but maintain a good fertilizing schedule as you would normally, but don't give any extra fertilizer because plant structures can easily burn under water stress.
THREE - Mulch Your Garden
In hot, dry weather, mulch is a garden's best friend. It reduces water evaporation, conserves soil moisture, and insulates the soil from sweltering summer temperatures and cools it down.
FOUR - Deadhead Regularly
It’s a good idea to take off spent flowers during hot weather because it reduces metabolic demand.
FIVE - Pinch Back Old Leaves
By removing old, tired, and dead leaves, you let the most productive leaves do the work of photosynthesis.
SIX - Provide Some Shade
When plants are struggling under the heat consider moving hanging baskets and planters to a location that gives them a break from the sun, and for in-ground plantings, provide a shade cover like lattice to block out some of the sun's rays.
How I Came to Love the Beauty and Ease of Supertunias
- From a beauty perspective, Supertunia flowers can be small or large, they are bold and bright, and the colour selection is impressive.
- From a design perspective, Supertunias are versatile. There are varieties for every garden application.
- From a care perspective, there are no Petunias that equal them. Supertunias are profuse bloomers that can take the summer heat.
Spring Garden Cleanup Methods That Protect Pollinators
Pollinators, those tiny creatures that unintentionally move pollen around, play a critical role in the maintaining biodiversity of our world.
The winter garden serves as a shelter for hibernating pollinators as they seek refuge in secluded spots like withered plant stems, mulch, aged wood, and the upper layers of soil and mulch.
Insects exhibit incredible abilities, like the capability of remaining dormant in various developmental stages be it as adults, larvae, pupa, and eggs throughout the winter.
As gardeners, our awareness of the essential role we play in the natural ecosystem has heightened, driving us to seek methods to preserve beneficial insect populations such as native bees and ladybugs.
Recent studies have unveiled innovative approaches to safeguard these vital creatures.
Here are three ways we can support pollinators in early spring:
- Delay Spring Cleanup a Little
- Rather than hastily tidying up the garden by cutting and raking as early as possible, consider holding off any gardening activity until the temperature reaches 10°C (50°F) or higher for at least seven consecutive days.
- Sustained warm weather offers insects the opportunity to emerge from hibernation and relocate before the garden undergoes any disturbances.
- Resisting this urge can be challenging, especially in regions with fluctuating spring temperatures.
- If you simply cannot hold off entering the garden, pile old flower stems in a designated area to permit insects to come out safely.
- These stems can be composted or removed by mid-June.
- Mulch a Bit Later
- Numerous insects, such as ladybugs, find refuge in decomposing leaf matter and mulch during the winter months.
- By keeping the current mulch intact and undisturbed; and by delaying the addition of more mulch until mid-June or later, you provide these insects with ample time to awaken and move on without disrupting their existing habitat as they adjust to the warming temperatures.
- Trim Perennials Higher in Autumn
- This final approach is a strategy for fall garden maintenance and winter preparations, but it is something to keep in mind as the growing season winds down.
- Since some insects overwinter inside hollow perennial stems, leaving more stem length provides a more secure space for hibernation.
- Instead of cutting perennials back to 7 cm (3"), consider leaving longer stalks measuring 15-20 cm (6"-8") to offer pollinators more choice and protection during winter.
In conclusion, it's fascinating how simple adjustments to our gardening routines can contribute to a healthier, more sustainable environment.
By supporting pollinators, we indirectly benefit ourselves, and embracing these practices allows us to advance a healthier and greener world for generations to come.
