Gardening Getting a grip on growing in the new weather These changes to the four seasons will amount to an upheaval in growing conditions. Plants such as roses and tomatoes that once thrived in full sun locations may now perform better in part shade, with protection during midday when the sun is at its highest arc. Vegetable patches with full sun exposure may also need protection, by using shading row covers. Using simple lightweight stakes to help support a spun fabric row covering over struggling plants will help to cut down on ultraviolet rays reaching foliage. The covering can remain for the hottest periods of summer and then be easily removed when temperatures become more moderate. Woody plants such as maple, spruce and lilac that have survived for decades with rain moisture alone will benefit from supplemental watering to prevent premature leaf drop and wood die-back. Tomatoes will drop their flowers when exposed to prolonged intense heat. You’ll know that perennial and annual plants need help when they show signs of wilt despite adequate watering, or if foliage has dry crispy edges. Broad leaf plants such as hostas may develop scorched areas on the broadest leaf sections. Along with protection from intense heat exposure, providing generous soil moisture is essential. Midday sun exposure can overwhelm plant foliage that is unable able to pump water up fast enough to prevent wilting; but if soil moisture is available, they will return to turgid posture once the sun passes off leaf surfaces. It’s important to have sufficient moisture in the soil to adequately meet their daily needs. A twoinch mulch of leaf litter over exposed soil is a good way to keep soil moisture from evaporating. On the upside, some tender trees such as redbud, magnolias and Japanese maples may now be grown in regions beyond their historical northern limits. Certain annual plants such as dahlias, pansies and canna lilies could also be used as perennials and left in the ground over the winter. It may also be possible to grow some of the more frost-resistant cultivars of figs outdoors without lifting and burying the trees in winter. Enhanced growing advantages such as these will depend on the temperature rise in each region. It will be a new opportunity to experiment and see how far each growing location has changed. An effective strategy would be to invest in reliably heat-tolerant perennial plants that can withstand the intense heat of summer. Among them, look for catmint (nepeta), sedums, creeping thyme, sprawling potato vine, dwarf golden daylily ‘Stella D’Oro’, lavender, coneflowers (echinacea), yarrow and salvia. Daylily Stella Coneflower Catmint, Potato Vine, Begonia Rudbeckia CSANews | WINTER 2025 | 55
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