With the heatwave well and truly here, many of us will be spending our time out enjoying the garden. And whilst you might not want to be doing any gardening, your plants may need the extra TLC with such high temperatures.
Unless you've created a drought-tolerant garden, your plants will be quite vulnerable to significant temperature changes. In the same way you may need to help sunburnt plants during a heatwave, your potted plants will require some extra attention when it comes to their soil. Even when you know how to water your garden plants properly, it's all too easy to give them proper hydration more regularly when the weather starts picking up.
So, with temperatures reaching record highs this bank holiday, what better time to learn how to revive dehydrated soil and ensure your plants survive this heatwave?
A post shared by Ish Kamran (@gardening.with.ish)
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This hose attachment from Hozelock features a flow adjuster and five spray patterns, including a fine rose suitable for watering seedlings.
This irrigation kit from Gardena is perfect for watering flower and vegetable beds of up to 60 m² and is easy to install.
This weather-resistant plastic watering can from Accurate has a large capacity and includes a detachable sprinkler rose.
You might be wondering if your outdoor plants need to be watered every day now that the hot weather is here, and whilst it depends on the plant, you'll certainly need to be checking them more often for dried soil. Especially if the soil is so dry it can't be watered.
"One of the most annoying things in the garden is when you accidentally forget to water a plant, and the soil becomes rock solid and looks a little bit like that," explains Garden Designer and Influencer Ish @Gardening.with.ish on Instagram.
"And every time you try to water over it, you find water just tips straight over the side. It doesn't soak into the compost whatsoever, and this happens quite a lot. And the way that's happened is it's gone so dry that it's not going to let anything soak in. So the idea here is you need to rehydrate your soil," he adds.
If you've forgotten to care for your plants whilst you were on holiday then you might find they're also struggling to absorb water. Luckily, the solution is simple and effective.
"Now, this is incredibly simple, all you need is a bucket of water, definitely bigger than the pot you had it in, and just chuck the plant straight in. Leave it like this for about two to three hours. It doesn't matter how long, really, but enough that this starts working as a sponge. It soaks in all of that water and rehydrates the soil," Ish states.
"You'll even notice that the compost has started to expand and fill this pot, because at the moment there's a nice big gap that I can put my fingers in either side," he continues.
Bottom watering your plants like this can stop you from accidentally overwatering them, as they only soak up what they need.
"Now, when it's done after a couple of hours, you can bring it out and water it again as normal, and it shouldn't hopefully be all crusty on the top, it should just soak in," finishes Ish.
So, if plants are refusing to hold water when you water them regularly, it might be time to rehydrate them with a good soak.
Your hanging baskets will also need checking regularly, as the number of times you should water them increases with the warmer weather.
