Caring for Your Landscape During Hot, Dry Weather

If you are living on the eastern seaboard or in the southern part of the United States, this summer of 2010 has been brutal. In my area of Northeast Tennessee, for example, we have been experiencing record high temperatures. In addition, we have a rain deficit of 8-9 inches at the moment with no hopes of making that up any time soon. With the kind of heat with which we have been dealing, people are being advised to stay indoors in the cool if possible, to limit outdoor activities, and to stay hydrated. People and animals are not the only ones suffering, however. The landscape is also suffering. Lawns are brown. Many gardens look horrible. Even trees are languishing. How do you care for your landscape under these conditions?

Water
This seems like an obvious course of action; however, I cannot begin to tell you how many people do not do this. For example, during the Tennessee Master Gardener course that I took, we were experiencing a dry spell. Most of the gardeners in my class were talking about how many of their plants had died from lack of water. I asked them why they did not water them. The responses were that they did not want to run up their water bills, and/or it was too hard to drag hoses around the yard. I found both of these excuses appalling! First, I have a lot of money invested in my plants, which does not include my labor. A water bill that is only twenty or thirty dollars higher is not that much when I consider how much money that I would lose in plants. Second, drag the hose around the yard if necessary! Another solution is to add extra hose bibs around your yard in order to have hoses closer to your various gardens. (My plumber husband did this when we first moved into our home about 4-5 years ago and is going to be adding yet another this summer. It makes watering much easier.) There is no excuse not to give your landscape the water it needs. You drink water, correct? You also give your pets water, don't you? Your landscape deserves the same consideration.

Water correctly
Once you have decided that your landscape needs water, you should then water it correctly. Quick, short waterings every day or two will usually do more harm than good. Instead, your plants -- especially if you have planted a lot of perennials -- will need deep waterings (about one-inch) to encourage their roots to grow deeply. (Short waterings cause perennials to develop shallow roots, which weakens the plant.) Set your sprinkler(s) and/or drip irrigation systems to run for at least 20 minutes. If you are unsure about whether or not your sprinkler system is giving your plants and lawn at least one-inch of water, place plastic cups in various spots under the sprinkler. After 20 minutes, check the level of the water in the cups. If less than one-inch, continue to water a little longer. (Note: You usually do not have to water drought-tolerant perennials this way more than once a week. If the weather is extremely hot, you can water them twice a week.)

Container plants kept outdoors and flowering annuals require more frequent waterings. In fact, they usually need to be watered about once each day. Give them a good drink each morning. You really do not want to wait until the leaves are drooping before deciding to water. Drooping leaves indicates that the plant is under stress. Continued stress can often eventually lead to the ultimate demise of your plant. Also, water your plants at the soil level underneath the foliage. Plants can sunburn, and water left on the leaves can cause this type of burn. (I would also recommend that you place your houseplants in at least partial shade to further protect them from scorching.)

The time of day that you water is also important. Generally you should water your plants in the morning. This gives them the water they need to make it through the hot temperatures of the day. It also allows the water on the foliage of your perennials a chance to dry out before the sun begins to beam down on them, which helps to prevent scorching and also cuts down on powdery mildew. Lawns can be watered in the mornings or in the evenings.

Mulch
If you have not done so or if your mulch has grown a bit thin since the spring, mulch your garden areas. Mulch will help the soil to retain moisture. It will also help to keep the ground a bit cooler, and many hardy perennials prefer to have their roots kept cool.

Back off using the fertilizer
Most plants, including lawn grasses, will go dormant when the weather becomes hot and dry. This is their way of conserving their energy during these times when the temperatures are unbearable. Giving your plants fertilizer encourages them to break this dormancy, which can actually be detrimental to the plants' health. You should, therefore, not feed them and just allow them to "sleep" for awhile. Once the temperatures cool, the plants, including your lawn, will start to bounce back and produce new growth.

Perform light maintenance only
Other than watering and weeding, the best thing that you can do for your landscape during hot, dry weather is nothing. Oh, you can deadhead your perennials, of course. However, now is not the time to be piddling around in your garden, moving plants and even planting new ones. You also need to mow your lawn less often, if at all. You probably do not feel like spending too much time outside in the heat in your garden anyway. Light maintenance, such as the aforementioned watering, weeding, and deadheading, is about all that needs to be done. You should also try to do this in the early morning while the temperatures -- hopefully -- are still a bit cooler.

You and your landscape can survive this hot, dry summer. You both just need to stay hydrated and take it easy.