If you want moderate summers try Minnesota, but this is Texas, and every summer is as hot as it can be. Don’t give up on your pretty plants, help them out and keep them alive all summer long.
Here is a few helpful tips to keep your plants alive all summer:
When it comes to summer, your potted plants are by far the most susceptible to heat. While other plants can distribute heat throughout the surrounding ground, potted plants only have a small amount of space for heat to dissipate and they can quickly become dehydrated. During the summer, always keep your potted plants in the shade and make sure you water them every day. This may seem like an obvious tip, but water is the key to reducing heat damage during the summer. The trick is to not only water often, but to make sure you pour enough water to fully moisten the soil and give your plants a reserve to draw upon if they start to get dehydrated. The deeper you go, the cooler the soil, so making sure the bottom roots have a good amount of water can help your plants survive the blazing heat.
If you don’t usually use mulch, now is the time. Organic mulch can help cool down the soil significantly while bringing back some essential nutrients that might be lost through evaporation during a heat wave. If temperatures start to rise, mulch can be a great way to protect your plants. Along with using more mulch, you should consider forgoing the fertilizer during the hot summer months. While it is tempting to fertilize plants, especially when they’re starting to cook in the heat, fertilizer is only effective when a plant has enough water to support the chemicals. Otherwise, fertilizer can easily burn dry plants and make your problem even worse.
These tips can help you keep your outdoor plants alive this summer, or you could forget about all the work and just get indoor plants instead!
