Pakistan Gardening Forum

Guys what do you do to protect your plants from summer heat of May and June? Specially the container plants.My container plants on terrace always stress out in may and june. They do survive but do not do good. Any tips and tricks?

Place them where air circulation is good.

Provide Half Shade or select a place where they get morning sun only.

Try to cover roots by planting a ground cover around the base.

Water early in the morning.

I use Coco Chunks for my adeniums, they keep the roots cool and hence plant is happier.

Stop Fertilizing.

tweedle2009 wrote:Place them where air circulation is good.

Provide Half Shade or select a place where they get morning sun only.

Try to cover roots by planting a ground cover around the base.

Water early in the morning.

I use Coco Chunks for my adeniums, they keep the roots cool and hence plant is happier.

Stop Fertilizing.

What do you suggest for ground cover?
Stop fertilizing? That is interesting. And how does it help fight the summer heat?

Fertilization should be done before summer.Nitrogen and Phosphorus help fight summer heat making plants more heat tolerant.But it is not advisable to fertilize when ur plants are in a state of continuous stress.

In my opinion stopping fertilizer will not help. Proper Fertilizer not cause any harm to the plants, this is excessive fertilization which harm the plants, but yes which type of fertilizer can be used. I am always fan of Chelated foliar (Chemical compounds that hold metal ions such as iron in solution so the plant can absorb them more readily) or slow release fertilizer. In case of foliar, fertilizer in the evening. Fertilization can only be stopped when the plant is in the Dormant Stage. A very good article about when to fertilize viewtopic.php?f=13&t=69

Khabbab, I read your post on http://www.lahoregardening.com/2010/05/ ... ummer.html. You are doing so many things, some other tips are:

Pot inside another decorative or Plastic Pot will help significantly and also provides some decor to your terrace.

A little expensive but very effective is Retractable Awning.
(Retractable awnings let owners control the weather on their own terms. When passing showers threaten, or when the sun gets hot, they unroll the awning for near-instant protection and shade. Lab test measurements show that it can be as much as 20 degrees cooler under an awning’s canopy. Wikipedia)

If you make it by your own on wooden or light aluminum frame and use a green shade net instead of cloth it will be less expensive.

An Idea of Awning

khabbab wrote:Guys what do you do to protect your plants from summer heat of May and June? Specially the container plants.My container plants on terrace always stress out in may and june. They do survive but do not do good. Any tips and tricks?

Summer Heat, I have grown Roses in 120F in the Open

The important part is to reduce Soil Temperature to 80F
This can be done by the procedure mentioned How to save Water in the Garden. Please acty accordingly
B Shah

shahwon, could you tell me if your roses bloomed in 120 degrees? If they did which kind were they? HTs or English roses?

The best way is to keep the soil moist evaporation will carry the Heat , this lowers soil temperature,Like the water radiator in Car.

I have grown Roses at temp 120F as a practical demonstration for gardeners in Karachi

I hope other gardeners will also take this tip

Well here we have 4 months of summer heat June to Sep, following is what i do:

1. Cover with Green cloth
2. Large pots help plants to survive as they have more capability to contain water
3. No fertilizer at all
4. Water in evening is better than morning as plants will have water for the whole night as well. Two times watering is best.
5. I use water retaining pellets which helps plants to overcome dry out.
6. Mulching offcourse.
7. I shift my Geraniums,Mums,begonias & all indoor plants near a window inside where they survived the summer.

Also white color pots are better than red or black plastic pots , Clay pots are better than plastic ones.