4 tips for keeping plants alive in this summer heat

While the heat waves have been coming and going this summer, one thing for certain is it's been a very dry season so far.

And according to Michele DiMennna, when the weather is scorching without any relief, plants are feeling the stress.. Her family owns and operates Ruthven Nursery and Garden Centre in Kingsville.

"We are starting to see signs of yellowing leaves, dropping leaves, colouring that is not to the optimum colour spectrum," she said. "Definitely this hot weather is stressing out the trees."

As for people who have evergreens, they might start seeing them as more "green-grey" than "green-green," DiMenna said.

How do you make sure the plants, old and new, pull through to September in these conditions?

Water much more frequently

DiMenna said for newly planted trees or even trees planted just last fall, people need to be watering them every three to four days, rather than just once a week.

The same goes for smaller, new plants, says John Nowak, lead sales and supervisor at Plantscape Inc., a landscaping company in Oldcastle.

"They need to water everything in the morning, and they need to water everything at night if they're getting a lot of direct sunlight on these plants," he said.

Both said the trees need a slow trickle rather than an all-over shower, just to make sure the trees are absorbing that water.

Don't water during the day

Nowak said when it gets so hot during the day, homeowners should be watering twice a day, but not while the sun is shinin full blast.

The sun is "attracted" to the water on plants, and "it can cause that plant to burn up."

He suggested if homeowners have irrigation systems, to ensure they come on before morning and come on after sundown.

Plant fast

When it's this hot outside, planting needs to happen fast.

Nowak said even though they plant throughout the summer, compared to spring, the plants are far less tolerant of a waiting period.

"You're buying them from the nursery, you should be getting them in the ground fairly quickly," he said. "You cannot let them sit bare root or sit out in the sun."

And it's also good to make sure the soil is relatively cool. When the soil is above 26 C (80 F), a new plant's root system can burn, he said. To mitigate that, people can "heal them in" by putting mulch around them in addition to watering them, to keep the plant cool.

Don't forget the old trees

Just because a tree is mature, doesn't mean it doesn't need its fair share of the care.

DiMenna said people are good at remembering new plants, but the older ones are put on the back burner.

In the case of an older tree, it's important to water them at the "drip line," rather than at the roots. The drip line, DiMenna explained, is at the end of the canopy or the leaves.

"That's where your young, more feeding roots, are found," she said.

Watering a tree's trunk won't be helping those younger roots that are further out.

However, after several weeks of fairly dry weather, it seems like Windsor and Essex County may finally be getting some love from the rain.

There's a 40 per cent chance of showers on Friday. Then over the weekend, there will be a 60 per cent chance on Saturday and 40 per cent on Sunday.

It will also be cooler, with an expected high of 26C on Saturday and 24C on Sunday.