How To Look After Your Garden In A Heatwave
Looking After Your Garden During A Heatwave
How to Prepare Your Garden for the Next Heatwave
After another spell of hot weather, it’s safe to say that summer isn’t over yet. While we all enjoy soaking up the sunshine, prolonged periods of heat can quickly take their toll on our gardens. Dry soil, thirsty plants, and scorched lawns are all common sights during a heatwave, but with a little preparation, your garden can continue to thrive.
Here are our top tips to help your garden stay healthy when the temperatures start to climb.
Water Wisely
When the weather is hot, it can be tempting to reach for the hose throughout the day. However, watering in the middle of the afternoon often means much of the water evaporates before it reaches the roots.
Instead, water your garden early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are cooler. Give plants a thorough soak rather than a light sprinkle, as this encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil where moisture lasts longer.
Feed Your Plants
Hot weather often means plants are growing quickly and flowering abundantly, using up valuable nutrients in the process. Applying a liquid feed every week or two will help keep flowers blooming, vegetables producing, and containers looking their best throughout the summer.
Different plants have different needs, so choose a feed suited to what you’re growing, whether that’s flowering plants, tomatoes, or fruit and vegetables.
Mulch to Lock in Moisture
One of the simplest ways to reduce watering is by applying a layer of mulch around your plants. Bark, compost, or well-rotted organic matter helps the soil retain moisture, keeps roots cooler, and can even help suppress weeds that compete for water.
It’s a small job that can make a big difference during extended dry spells.
Avoid Planting or Transplanting
Save new planting until cooler weather if possible. Plants are already under stress in extreme heat, and moving them can make it harder for them to establish.
Give Your Lawn a Break
A lawn naturally slows down during periods of extreme heat, and that’s perfectly normal. Rather than mowing as short as usual, raise your mower blades slightly to leave the grass longer. Longer grass shades the soil, helping it retain moisture and reducing stress on the lawn.
If your lawn turns brown, don’t panic. In most cases it will recover once cooler weather and rainfall return.
Provide Shade for Vulnerable Plants
Not every plant enjoys full sun all day long. Young plants, newly planted shrubs, and delicate flowers can all benefit from a little protection during the hottest part of the day.
Moving containers into partial shade or using shade netting can help prevent leaves from scorching and reduce water loss.
Be Prepared
Heatwaves often arrive with little warning, so having the right tools on hand can make all the difference. Hoses, watering cans, sprinklers, mulch, plant feeds, and moisture-retaining composts are all worthwhile additions to your gardening kit before the next hot spell arrives.
If you’re unsure which products are best for your garden, our friendly team are always happy to offer advice.
Visit Raglan Garden Centre
Whether you’re looking for watering equipment, specialist plant feeds, or simply some inspiration for keeping your garden looking its best this summer, you’ll find everything you need here at Raglan Garden Centre.
Pop in and chat with our knowledgeable plant team – we’re always happy to help you prepare your garden for whatever the British summer has in store.
Everything you need for May gardening is available in store at Raglan Garden Centre. If you’re not sure which products are right for your garden, just ask – we’re always happy to help.