Gardening experts have urged homeowners to do one thing to protect their plants this weekend. Highs of 33C will hit in a few days, according to WXCharts, which has forecast stifling weather for next Monday, June 30.
National Trust gardeners have revealed how to keep your garden safe during hot weather, with one area topping the list – watering wisely. They said to water plants in the morning and evening only when hot weather is forecast. “For pots, it’s best to water first thing in the morning or last thing at night to avoid damaging plants,’ says Hamish from Scotney. “When the sun shines on water, it can act like a magnifying glass, burning the leaves below.” They also said not to worry about watering your grass. Hamish Bett from Scotney Castle in Kent says: “Grass is very good at dealing with a lack of water; even if it turns brown, it will be able to bounce back when the rains return later in the year. At Scotney, we never water grass, even in a heatwave.”
The National Trust recommends training your plants’ roots. Regular shallow watering encourages plant roots to stay at the surface where water is easily available.
More infrequent but thorough watering teaches them to go deeper and become far more resilient to drought. When plants are young, they’ll adapt more readily to the amount of water they receive and get used to irregular watering.
It is predicted to be hottest in Kent at 33C, followed by London, East Sussex, Essex and Suffolk, where it’s set to be 32C. The rest of the east is forecast for temperatures between 30C and 31C. Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hampshire could see temperatures between 26C and 29C.
There could also be highs of between 20C and 25C in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, and Devon.
The rest of England and Wales is set to be between 16C and 19C, while Northern Ireland could reach between 14C and 16C and Scotland between 9C and 18C.
The Met Office said of the period: “A low pressure system passes to the northwest of the UK at the start of the period bringing wetter windier conditions to the northwest.
“Elsewhere a good deal of dry and locally hot weather early in the period, and its possible the odd thunderstorm could develop in response to the heat before it likely turns cooler from the west around the middle of next week.
“Beyond this there will be a good deal of dry weather for many under the influence of higher pressure. There is also the chance of further very warm, perhaps locally hot weather, as brief bursts of hotter air encroach from the continent, but probably fairly short-lived. Should these occur they bring with them the threat of thunderstorms.”