Gardening in hot weather is all about proper watering

The dog days of summer are upon us. With the temperatures rising into the 90s, we and our gardens are just going to have to hunker down until it cools off about the middle of August. Between then and now gardeners need to focus on keeping water on the garden.

If you haven’t checked your sprinkler heads since you turned on the system, now is a good time to do it. Check for heads that have been broken or are clogged with debris. Sod can grow over pop-up heads and hold them down. Some of the rotary pop-up heads get sticky with age and won’t turn properly. Plants can grow up in front of heads, blocking the spray.

Make sure your system is on long enough to get water down to plant roots. Shrubs, perennials and trees need 2 inches a week, while lawns need an inch and a half. It is better to run sprinklers for longer periods a few times a week than for just a few minutes each day. Check how well your system is doing by watering, then digging down until you reach dry soil. If you don’t have damp soil down 6 to 8 inches, increase the amount of time you are running the system.

Water in the evening or early morning to prevent water loss and damage to plants. I see a lot of systems on in the early afternoon around town – especially on the common landscapes of neighborhood communities. You are throwing away your maintenance fees, folks. Our humidity levels are low enough here; we don’t have the disease problems caused by watering at night in other places.

Pots and container plantings dry out quickly with the heat. Water them daily in the evening so they have the night to catch up. Some smaller pots may need water twice a day. Group pots together so they can benefit from the humidity and shade of their neighbors. Invest in a drip watering system for pots and set it on a battery-powered timer. For under $50, you won’t have to rush home from work or the lake to save your plants.

Hold off fertilizing lawns until September. The grass goes dormant in the heat and won’t use it. This excess just finds its way into the groundwater. Cut your lawn a little taller to help shade the ground and hold moisture.

Fertilize roses for the last time now so any new growth has a chance to harden before the frosts hit. If your roses took a beating last winter, make sure they get some extra water to help the rebuilding process continue. If you are seeing strange colors of flowers or very different growth on grafted roses, check if the growth is coming out from under the graft point. If it is, remove it; this is the root stock coming through. If there is no growth out of the area above the graft point, consider pulling the plant out.

Now get a cold drink and sit on the deck; you’ve earned it.