Maintain your Garden in Drought Conditions
The summer solstice is upon us and with it comes all the challenges of gardening in the heat. New England is expected to have a dry summer so it is important to know how to maintain your garden in drought conditions. Drought can weaken plants and leave them more vulnerable to disease and insects. Healthy foliage may wilt and not return.
Plant the right plant in the right place – A shade loving plant will suffer in full sun. Watering will help, however, extra watering should not be required even in drought conditions for most well established plants.
Keep up with watering – Most plants require about an inch of water a week. If plants get behind in this water requirement the soil gets hard and may have trouble soaking up water when it does come. Water plants slowly and gently especially during drought conditions to allow water to soak in the soil without running off.
Pull out weeds gently preferably when the soil is moist – Doing so will ensure that the moisture is going to plant growth and not weed growth.
Put quality bark mulch down – Mulch is an efficient way to retain moisture and keep weeds down. Don’t use mulch with a high wood content as it will rob moisture from plants. Bark (the outside of the tree) protects plants from insects and disease whereas wood (the inside of the tree) has the opposite affect. Know the difference.
Recycle water – When you stop and think of all the water you waste on a daily basis, this is actually easy. You can use water from anything from waiting for the shower to heat up, to the water you rinse dishes with.
Use organic matter in the soil – Organic matter will retain more moisture for plants. Consider topdressing lawns and flower beds with compost.
Naturescape, LLC provides customers with a professional and nurturing experience from the beginning to the end of each landscaping project. From design to installation to protecting your landscape investment with quality management programs your experience will be exciting and gratifying.
You and your landscape design for your property or building are our number one priority.
P.O. Box 56 Andover, CT 06232
860-742-0326