Summer season is a challenging time for plants to thrive with high heat duration. Heat sensitive plants need more care during summer. Plant photosynthesis rate is more due to more light in summer, it also loses more water from plants. So some extra care is required for plants during summer.
some important summer plant care tips to get you started.
Maintain humidity level
Plants that require high humidity, should be frequently misted through periods of summer heat.
You may fill your planters base with pebbles and fill it with water.It helps in moisture conservation.
You may also group the plants together and put a bucket of water in the middle to create a little humid microclimate for your plant, which will provide humidity to sustain the summer.
Proper watering
Proper and timely watering is the key to indoor plant care. The summer heat wave causes water to evaporate from the soil at a much faster rate.
It requires watering your plants deep but slowly. If you pour a lot of water in a rush, the soil does not get time to absorb the water and it just drains through the drainage holes at the bottom.
Giving water too little causes the topsoil to get wet while the lower roots get dehydrated. So make sure the water is actually absorbed by watering slowly.
You may follow a simple trick: start watering with the first plant, suppose your plants need two mugs of water for the day, start by giving them one mug of water one after the other and then do the cycle again. Continue this till the last plant gets the required water. This gives the plants and soil enough time to absorb the water.
Evening Watering:
In the summers, look for your plants for watering in the evening. water the plants when soil feels dry at 1-2″ down.
Another indicator of fast-drying is when the soil pulls away from the sides of the pot. If there’s a gap between the soil and the side of the pot, it’s time to water when the heat is declining.
If the sun is just setting or set already, then misting the dry leaves is also a good option for indoor plants.
In A/C rooms, in the summers, dry air can dry pots just as quickly as the sun.
Care for shade sensitive plants.
If your plants are present in a south or west facing balcony are especially susceptible to leaf burn. Move them to some corners so that they do not get a full day of direct sun and water them deeply every morning.
Try grouping plants together and shade more delicate varieties like ferns behind hardier and larger varieties.
You may cover your plants with green shade nets.
Don’t fertilize your plants in stress conditions
If the plants struggle due to heat damage, fertilising is not a good idea. Though fertilizer is needed for plants but during summer, a stressed plant is not looking for extra nutrients and it can not use them enough and it may give stress to your plant further.
You may give some water soluble organic fertilizer spray in lower dose.
Don’t re-pot during peak summer
It is good to re-poting before the summer.
During repotting it requires trimming some of the root mass, damaged shoots etc. But this gives plants at a risk of shock and stress if it's done in peak summer.
So, keep your re-potting in cooler weather.
Also pruning the plants before summer is a good idea.
Always try to read the plant’s stress conditions before it is too late. Some stress signs due to too much heat or too little water are;
The tropical plants (especially the trailing ones) will wilt due to too much heat wave. They need to be sheltered more.
Pale foliage of plants is a sign of stress.
Yellow patches or brown spots may be signs of sunburn.
Flower and leaf drops are also a sign of plant stress.
7. Composting
With watering composting also helps in keeping your plants hydrated and healthy.
Carefully remove the top inch of your potting soil and replace it with a layer of compost for a more hydrated soil.
Covering the topsoil with mulch or moss also helps retain moisture by lowering surface evaporation.
During summer plants need much water as a lot of water is lost from plants due to evaporation. So with better care plants can grow and sustain in high heat.
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