Tips to Protect Your Plants from Summer Heat

Hot weather can be hard on your plants. Just like us, they need special care in extreme heat. Even with adequate watering and mulching,plants can suffer when the temperatures rise but there are a few things you can do to help protect your plants from heat stress during the hottest part of the summer.

1. Water your plants in the morning

During those hot summer months, it’s best to water your garden in the early morning before the sun starts beating down. If you wait until midday or even early afternoon, most of the water will likely evaporate before it travels to the plants’ roots.

If you can’t water your plants in the morning, the early evening is another good time to water.

2. Mulching

A thick layer of mulch helps insulate the plant’s roots from both heat and cold. It will also help keep the soil moist. If your garden is prone to extreme temperatures, strive for at least 4-6 inches of mulch in your garden. Straw, pine needles, leaves, and grass clippings make good, inexpensive mulch. Lay it on thick; your plants will love you for it.

3. Avoid over-watering your garden

Heat and sun exposure can cause transpiration on your over watered plants, which can lead to leaf wilt. Additionally, when plants are watered too much, the excessive moisture in the soil can cause bacteria to develop, oxygen to be in short supply, and ultimately create fungal disease.Resist the urge to water your plants too much when it’s really hot outside.

4. Provide Shade

During extreme heat, plants will cease flowering and can get sunburned. When temperatures get into the mid 90’s Fahrenheit, plants like peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants hold back flowering. A good way to remedy this is to give them some shade during the hottest part of the day. You can use a patio umbrella for a small area or a lightweight piece of fabric (like a flatbed sheet) stretched over a trellis to shade sections of your garden.

5. Weed your garden regularly

Pesky weeds that infest your garden can soak up all the water, leaving little for the plants in your garden that you want to keep nourished and hydrated. Weed your garden once a week for the best results, or twice a month at the bare minimum.