PLANT CARE DURING A HEATWAVE

Plant care during a heatwave is paramount to the health of your plants. Most young plants need extra care during a heatwave unless they are from a succulent/cacti family. Please, remember that young plants especially require water to establish before they become fully drought tolerant. This applies even if they are considered a drought/heat tolerant plant variety.

Some plants, even when well-watered during very hot temperatures, can still show signs of heat stress. As a result, they may develop wilting leaves and flowers. However, this is transient and with the right care, the plants will spring back soon. This, in part, happens when the rate of water evaporating from the plant exceeds the amount of water the plant can absorb at that moment.

The following steps will help your young plants withstand the heatwave better:

• If planting out, water the plants in their original pots and then morning and evening (during heatwave) and daily until they are growing well (they are established).
• If keeping them in pots until you are ready to plant them out, place them somewhere cool and shady (standing pots on gravel trays filled with water can help plants absorb more water from the air around them as this practice will increase humidity around the plant). This is especially important for house plants requiring high humidity but will also help other non-succulent plants during a heatwave. Water once or twice daily if the compost is dry.

Once the heatwave is over continue watering the young plants as needed. Always check that the compost remains moist in pots by inserting your finger into the pot to about 2.5cm depth. If the compost is moist at this depth, wait a little longer before watering. The top of the compost, however, may look dry. It is important to remember that overwatering can kill a plant equally fast as underwatering, as this reduces the availability of air to plant roots. 

We have some lovely Organic Young plants available for sale. You are welcome to take a look at our Organic Plant Bundles where you can create your very own Bundle of 3, 6 or 9 plants of your choice. If you wish to purchase plants individually, we often have a larger range on our Edible Tortoise Plants product page.