Four ways to prepare and protect your garden in a heatwave

When you put so much time, care and money into your garden the last thing you want is for the plants to wilt, burn and potentially die from the summer heat.

But there are ways to protect and prepare your plants for days of extreme temperatures to give them the best chance of surviving.

A lot of these things do require action before the hot weather sets in though, so keep an eye on the forecast for a heads up on when to take early action.

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Watering

This might seem obvious but it's about how and when you water that really helps plants in hot weather.

You have two options for when to water: the evening before or the morning of the hot day, but before the temperature starts to climb.

They both have their pros and cons.

Watering in the evening means the water has a chance to soak all the way through the soil and ensure it is moist when the heat sets in. However, watering before nightfall can put your plants at risk of developing powdery mildew, especially if any water gets on the leaves and stem.

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As for watering in the morning, you'll need to make sure you do it early enough that it's not already hot or the plants are in full sun. This is to avoid the water drying out quickly and the plant getting steamed by the combination of heat and water.

In terms of how you water, you need to aim the water at the base of the plant so that the water can reach the roots. Watering deeply to encourage the roots to grow down further into the soil so they can access more water and nutrients.

If you have plants in pots you may need to water them more often, but check the top inch of soil is dry with your finger to avoid overwatering.

"Container plants will probably require watering daily – possibly even twice daily – during a heatwave, but take your cue from the plant itself and see if it's wilting and looking thirsty. Just as you don't want it parched, you also don't want to go to the other extreme and overwater it," Rachel Crow, Homes & Garden's gardening expert, told the publication.

Shade

Moving plants into the shade will prevent the sun's rays from scorching and wilting the plant, giving you one less heat problem to worry about.

This is easier for container plants as they can easily be moved elsewhere, especially if you have a pot mover or they're on a pot stand with wheels.

For garden beds not in the shade and pots that can't easily be moved (or the shade changes every couple of hours leaving plants exposed), your best option is to create the shade yourself.

You can try a shade cloth, an outdoor umbrella, a beach umbrella or buy purpose made shade covers.

There are plenty of pop-over plant shades available now, including the Jack 71cm thinking outside sun and insect plant cover from Bunnings for $17.95, which I used this week with great success.

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Mulch

Mulch is always beneficial for plants but in a heatwave it has the added benefit of helping plants retain moisture.

The layer of mulch covering the soil also supports roots by keeping them cool.

But don't just plonk mulch around a plant when it starts to get hot or while the soil is dry, it's best done after you've thoroughly watered the plant.

Another benefit of mulch is that it helps to suppress weed growth, which means there'll be less weeds in the garden to steal water from your plants.

Pot type

As stunning as terracotta pots are if they aren't sealed they can be hugely problematic in hot weather.

That's because terracotta is a porous material which means water will evaporate through it. This has benefits in preventing root rot by allowing excess water more opportunity to escape, but in hot weather the water will dry out far too quickly.

To prevent this you can seal terracotta pots by purchasing a terracotta sealant from a gardening or hardware store.

Or you can choose a different type of pot, but black is another one to reconsider. This is because the colour black absorbs heat so plants in pots of this colour may become stressed in the heat faster than others.

Lighter colours, particularly white, are known to reflect sunlight so pots in this colour will be a little cooler in hot weather.

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Things to avoid

If the hot weather isn't enough to keep you from wanting to garden, there are good reasons to reconsider leaving certain tasks for a cooler day.

Fertilising when it's hot can result in damage to the plant such as burnt foliage. It's also not worth it when the plant is just focused on keeping hydrated instead of taking up all those beneficial nutrients.

Once the heat subsides give your plant a chance to recover from any heat stress before considering applying fertiliser.

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Repotting plants is also another thing to avoid during a heatwave. Moving a plant from one pot to another is stressful enough for the plant without adding hot weather to deal with.

Save repotting for a day when your plant can acclimatise in its new home without any other factors stressing it out.

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