Summertime is the highlight of the year for bursting blooms and new growth in your garden. During these especially hot months, watering becomes the most essential element to keeping your plants happy and healthy. No matter what plant you have, they will need water, and knowing how much and at what frequency to water will make sure you are not over or under watering your plants. The following are some of our top 10 tips for watering your outdoor and indoor plants this summer.
- Give your Garden a Gander -
Walk around your garden before you even start watering. Analyze what are the stress points, if anything needs additional attention or care beyond watering. This is a best practice whether you are caring for your plants indoors or outdoors. Doing this daily is the best way to ensure productive and healthy plants.
- Address the Emergencies First -
After you do your walk-through, make sure you give the ones struggling a drink first. When you are done watering all your plants, you can go back to check on the thirsty ones to see if they need more water.
- Water in the Morning -
It is best to water your plants when you are about to leave for work or head out of the house for the day. Temperatures are usually cooler between 6am - 11am and water will be less likely to evaporate immediately.
- More Sun, More Water -
If you have any plants in a full sun situation of 6+ hours of direct sunlight daily, you will need to water more than you would in your shadier beds. Edible plants such as your fruits and veggies that you have in your garden will need special attention and care when it comes to watering. Keep this in mind when you are checking your yard and garden daily.
- Watering New Plants -
Newly planted plants will need some extra TLC compared to your tried and true garden residents. Whether these are annuals, perennials, trees, or shrubs, the root ball is more shallow at this time so they will need to be watered more often. The best way to water when the weather is dry and hot is to soak these plants by leaving the hose at the base of the plant for a few minutes. Mulching around the base of the plant will also help the water soak in while also keeping the roots nice and cool.
- Watering Lawns -
Lawns need water too! Some grasses have a harder time holding water than others. Depending on what environment you are gardening in, conditions can differ. If you have planted new grass plugs in the spring, aerate by punching holes 6-inches apart in the ground. This allows water to reach the roots rather than run off the surface. Having a sprinkler system or hose attachment helps tremendously when keeping your lawn from drying out.
- Watering in Containers -
Many of our porches and patios are decorated with containers brimming with all types of plants in the summer months. To keep these plants healthy, watering often is the key in the summer. Water evaporates more quickly from containers than it does the ground, especially from pots like terracotta.
- Watering Hanging Baskets -
When watering hanging plants, you will want to make sure that you are watering enough for the container to be fully watered, but not so much that the nutrients pour out of the bottom of the basket. Most hanging baskets on the hottest days of the year need to be watered daily.
- Watering Houseplants -
Houseplants, although inside, are also affected by the summer months. Temperatures and light direction changes inside the home seasonally, paying attention to light direction and humidity is key to keeping your houseplants happy.
- Best Tools -
When watering, it’s always best to have the right tools for the job. Watering wands are great for easy access to lower beds and higher hung baskets. Having multiple watering cans is also great for people who don’t have access to a hose or have indoor watering to attend to.
If you have any further questions that our blogs cannot answer, give us a call or stop by one of our year-round locations to inquire with our Green Team experts about watering.