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I moved into a house last year with lots of shade and great perennials. I never watered a thing, as I am a firm believer in the survival of the fittest. We have had reasonable rainfall all year.
Now we are facing several days of 100+ temps,and the first thing to wilt was my giant hydrangea. The blooms had just faded and I was contemplating pruning it back (it is right by my front door and cannot be allowed to get too big)
So should I go ahead and prune it?
and should I water it during this intense heat? Or will it bounce back appropriately when it cools or rains? Whichever comes first.
Hydrangeas are thirsty. It's on it's way to being dead if the flowers have wilted. Water it as deeply as you can.
I live in the driest state in the driest continent in the world, and every summer our gardens take a hammering.
One hot day without water is enough to kill most gardens, depending on what plants you have. We tend towards natives for this reason as they survive without water.
Everything other than a native or a rose must be watered daily in a heatwave otherwise they will die. I water at night because water drops in the sun will scorch and burn.
Get out there today!...prune the dead heads if you wish, but you will lose this plant if you don't water it daily in that heat.
I'm in MD and I water certain plants in a heatwave, but I also agree w/ survival of the fittest.
I am also pretty good, after several flubs, about planting plants in areas suited for their needs.
I water:
1. Newly planted items. The trees and shrubs I planted in Spring are definitely going to be watered deeply as needed for a year.
2. Expensive/beautiful/rare plants - I had to water the too-costly sky pencil hollies. In my yard, they've turned out to be wussy and finicky. I watered a fern a couple of days ago...It was expensive, and I really love ferns. I did spring on a couple of blue corydalis...and I gave these a little water earlier.
3. Vegetables
But during our previous heatwaves, nothing else really got extra water. I have a lot of different ferns, perennials and shrubs. I would say you probably don't have to water *everything* if they're established. But if you love the hydrangea...water (deeply) away.
Hydrangeas are thirsty. It's on it's way to being dead if the flowers have wilted. Water it as deeply as you can.
I live in the driest state in the driest continent in the world, and every summer our gardens take a hammering.
One hot day without water is enough to kill most gardens, depending on what plants you have. We tend towards natives for this reason as they survive without water.
Everything other than a native or a rose must be watered daily in a heatwave otherwise they will die. I water at night because water drops in the sun will scorch and burn.
Get out there today!...prune the dead heads if you wish, but you will lose this plant if you don't water it daily in that heat.
I would follow this information. Water deeply, early mornings, keep roots moist but not overwatered, use a moisture meter if available, it will tell you when you need to water.
I moved into a house last year with lots of shade and great perennials. I never watered a thing, as I am a firm believer in the survival of the fittest. We have had reasonable rainfall all year.
Now we are facing several days of 100+ temps,and the first thing to wilt was my giant hydrangea. The blooms had just faded and I was contemplating pruning it back (it is right by my front door and cannot be allowed to get too big)
So should I go ahead and prune it?
and should I water it during this intense heat? Or will it bounce back appropriately when it cools or rains? Whichever comes first.
If you're going to water - which would be a good idea - do it early in the morning or late in the evening.
As far as pruning, I'd wait until the heat abates. No reason to stress plants more than they're already stressed.
If you have potted plants, water them in the morning and the evening.
Water plants in the ground in the morning, and try to get as little water on the leaves as possible. I have a bubbler attachment for my hose that I just let sit on the ground next to the plants, and I move it every half hour or so.
If your garden is sturdy and the plants healthy prior to the heat wave even without rain, though they may be gone this year they will return next year. As for the Hydrangeas, according to our gardening expert in our paper, they are about shot this year. It is probably too late to perk them up and she says to trim them back now. MY problem, is I don't remember exactly how she said to do it. I know if you screw up on the trimming you won't get many blooms next year... We are watering everything on and around our front porch and doin my garden, but the rest we have given up on for thiis year. even our veggies are almost gone and we are really watering them. I think I will pull most of them (except for the tomatoes) out and call it a bad year...
Nita
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I water:
