The hottest May day record has been broken with temperatures soaring to an extortionate 35.1 degrees in London. And, like most gardeners, my thoughts turned straight to my plants and how best to keep them hydrated through this extreme heat. Gardener’s World presenter Monty Don has fortunately shared some expert advice on when and how best to keep your plants watered throughout a heatwave.
Watering your garden when the sunshine is bright, and the temperature is high, is a vital consideration: too much and you risk overwhelming them, too little and they will dry and wilt. Plus, when you water is as important as how much you water.
Discover Monty Don’s top tips to ensure your plants stay happy and healthy throughout the stretch of hot weather.
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Hot weather is ‘lovely but quite tough on plants,’ explains Monty. If you have a container garden, plants in pots, ‘do need watering much more often than normal. In fact, every day when it’s as hot as this’
You can check the soil by inserting your finger an inch or so into the soil, and if it feels dry, you need to water. It’s important to note your pot material here and how that might affect how often your plant needs watering. Terracotta dries out more quickly, whilst plastic and glazed pots can hold moisture longer. Smaller pots, meanwhile, will dry out faster than larger-sized pots.
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‘If you can, the best time to water your container is early morning before the sun warms up. If you can’t get it done early in the morning, don’t do it during the middle of the day wait till the evening,’ advises Monty. ‘The plants will then take the moisture and they can lose it during the day without suffering any problems.’
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‘The rule of watering is always the same soak don’t sprinkle,’ insists Monty. ‘Water directly to the roots of the soil or the compost and go on until the water is running out of the bottom of the container and then the roots can get down deep and find that moisture.’
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You’ll be relieved to hear that there’s not much more to do from a feeding perspective. ‘Just because you’re watering every day you don’t need to feed any more than normal,’ reveals Monty. ‘These plants will grow strong and healthy even if it’s burning hot,’ reassures Monty.
Lawns are another area of your garden that can suffer when the weather is balmy. How to care for a lawn during a heatwave relies on a really good sprinkler like the Gardena M rectangular sprinkler from Amazon, raising the height of the mower blades in response to low rainfall and refraining from applying fertiliser or other chemicals to drought-affected lawns to not add additional stress.
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