black side gate with floral spring wreath - arizona lifestyle blogger home and garden blog

Protecting Plants through hot summers

After last year summer’s total scorcher in the Phoenix valley I am now preparing to protect some plants from the intense sun a bit earlier in the summer.

So many mature trees died around the Valley and plants, and it was a shared grief among many of us as we shared the struggles on social media.

You may have remembered my topiaries I planted here:

black side gate with floral spring wreath - arizona lifestyle blogger home and garden blog

They didn’t make it *cry* It was probably due to poor location and the heat radiating off the cinderblock they just fried! I don’t even want to think about how much money was wasted on that…

We also had some new roses die, five of them that were newly planted when we completed the front landscape. It was pretty devastating. Once the summer heat was over I ran out to replace them so hopefully their roots are more established. Anyway, I had added some shade cloth for some relief and checked on them almost daily to make sure they were doing OK.

Here are a few tips I’ll be practicing all summer to give my plants the best survival rate this summer – and I can only try, as sometimes we can only do our best right?

Buy shade cloth to protect plants from summer sun

Check out these shade cloth options on Gardeners.com –

This shade kit is what I’m going to place over my newest plants to protect them (c/o) –

  • Provides 50% shade
  • Includes 6 self-staking poles and shade net

I’m going to protect our plants much earlier than mid-summer like I did last year.

Check drip irrigation

It sounds

Check on plants daily or at least every other day

Head out

Let’s hope it works out ok this year and we all survive!

 


Diana Elizabeth 

Diana Elizabeth is an author, photographer, and obsessive thrift shopper. You can typically find her in the garden wrist deep in dirt, at a local estate sale or planning her next creative themed party. She continues to blog weekly.

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