Even to those who have lived in Houston all their lives, the summer heat can be a brutal surprise every time it arrives. Sometimes it shows its face in May but this year, the triple digits saved themselves for the upcoming Father’s Day weekend. Hopefully, we can all keep Pops off the golf course and in the air conditioning. But what about our plants?
The past couple of months haven’t been too bad as far as the heat but the torrential downpours and unexpected thunderstorms have packed a wallop. My own bit of earth in Cypress was hit last week with what can only be described as a mini-hurricane. It knocked out power, hurled trampolines into yards where they did not belong and for some unfortunate folks on my street, knocked trees onto roofs.
While our yard flooded and a multitude of fallen limbs littered the lawn, we emerged unscathed and surprisingly, so did the garden. A few tomato plants had to be re-righted but the early-planted veggie garden is currently in decline anyway. I am harvesting what little is left and dreaming about the fall.
Some folks, though, are just now in the peak time of harvest. My daughter’s boyfriend brought me a bounty of squash and cucumbers while my husband’s co-worker sent home sweet corn and yard beans. Unfortunately, the Houston weather forecast for the next couple of weeks does not bode well for vegetables or flowers. We will have to bid a bittersweet farewell to some of them. Don’t shoot the messenger.
There are ways to prepare, though most of the work requires being outdoors to do so. Keeping hydrated and out of the sun during the hottest part of the day is extremely important. I had to do some weeding this week after the rain and I waited until certain parts of my garden were in the shade. I also limited myself to fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. That was in temps hovering around the mid-nineties. With triple digit heat, it’s best to stay inside with a cold beer and an episode of Dateline.
For those who can make it out in the early morn, that’s the best time to move potted plants or to water. And water is the key to plants surviving this heat wave. Many potted plants have to be watered everyday during this time and sometimes twice; in the morning and, if needed, in the evening. It’s a time-consuming pain but so is buying more plants to repot, which is also expensive. We’re going to need those extra dollars for our electric bills.
Most of us have potted plants on our patios and the hard surface just adds to the heat. It can be a lot of manual labor but moving plants out into the yard under a tree or under some sort of canopy can help them make it through the worst of it. When I go out of town, I put my potted plants under a big oak tree. They still get some dappled sunlight and any rain that might happen to pop up. If a pot is too heavy to move or there are too many, a shade cloth could help keep plants a few degrees cooler.
There are a variety of products available for helping to retain water in potted plants but I stick to the basics. A little mulch around the base of the plant can help but make sure it’s not too close to the stems because it could cause rot. And do not fertilize. That goes for plants in the ground as well. Repeat, do not fertilize right now.
As for flower beds, we gardeners may start to see wilting amongst our blooms and buds. Some plants are destined to die. It’s a floral fate that cannot be thwarted. Lobelia, dianthus and snapdragons are pretty much toast after this week. However, mine have hung on a few weeks past what I expected so they have done their duty.
The next ten days will be tough going for many of our blooming plants but some will do okay. Shrubby plants such as plumbago, lantana, butterfly weed and Mexican heather will be fine and also attract butterflies. Vinca (periwinkle) and pentas are super hardy, if kept watered, and often self sow, especially vinca. Zinnias might wilt a little but they will survive. Most salvia will actually thrive during the summer. Verbena may fade for a while but it should start reblooming when the weather cools a little. Roses will slow down but mine still have quite a few blooms.
If possible, gardeners should watering at the soil level rather than overhead. There’s less evaporation so the water gets to the roots rather than disappearing into thin air. Shame on those whose sprinklers are running at three in the afternoon. They are killing the planet and not helping their lawns and gardens. After a deep soak, an added layer of mulch can help. But please don’t do this in the heat of the day. Early morning or early evening is best.
Some vegetable gardens are still yielding nice harvests but once the sun starts bearing down, many fruits and vegetables will succumb. My harvest of blackberries the past couple of weeks have been diminished by White Drupelet Syndrome which can happen from too much sun and heat on the fruit or sometimes, stink bugs or red mites. I have seen very few stink bugs this year, so I am blaming it on the sun. I have an invasive, edible plant in my yard, Hoja Santa, that is shading my blackberries a little so I will leave it there until the season is through, then dig it up. It’s sort of a symbiotic relationship. The blackberries are still edible but not pretty, so I will use them in a cobbler.
Veggie gardeners will also see sunscald on some of their tomatoes in the oppressive heat. It’s a light colored patch on the fruit, usually the side facing the sun. I haven’t had too many problems with that but when I do I just cut out the bad parts. However, once it gets moldy, the tomato is a goner. I am surprised that the huge rainstorms did not cause blossom end rot on my tomatoes. That usually ruins the whole tomato, as does stink bug damage.
Right now, I am picking tomatoes when they have just a little color on them to protect them from the weather and the squirrels. Just let them ripen inside. And keep an eye out for tomato hornworms. Their green color means they blend in really well with the tomato plant and they will defoliate the plant very quickly. I dispatch them with a pair of scissors. I just hope I don’t come back as one in the next life.
My own garden is slowing down but others may have a bountiful harvest that needs to be brought in and used. I love gazpacho for using up tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumbers. It’s also a superfood. And who can get enough tomato bruschetta? Not me. Go ahead and sneak that zucchini and squash bounty into everything. We work too hard in our veggie gardens to let the produce go to waste.
With care, some tomato plants may be able to make it through the heat wave so that the remaining fruit can ripen. However, most tomato plants will not put out new fruit once the temperatures rise above 90 degrees. Opinions vary on the exact temps that blossoms start dropping but odds are, we won’t see many new tomatoes for the rest of the summer. I do have a volunteer tomato plant that came up by my sago palm that looks pretty healthy so I might get a few grape tomatoes from it. Peppers will slow down but they should spring back when the weather cools a bit. Again, shade cloths can help protect the plants and the fruit. Just remember to remove them after the heat wave has passed.
I dug up most of my carrots prior to the heat but I am leaving some of the smaller ones in the ground to see if they taste okay after the 103 degree heat. A few of my onions bulbed out but the ones still in the ground will probably not bulb due to the temperatures. I will leave them in their spot and use them when I need them.
Most herbs will still be doing okay, though lavender needs a break from the heat and cilantro is long gone at this point. Many gardens are overwhelmed with basil during the summer. This year my basil plants, which all came up from seed, had curled leaves from some sort of tiny bug. There’s always something for gardeners to battle.
This is not a time to plant anything new. It’s best to go into survival mode during the heat of the summer. Get out in the early morning and do the very basics to keep plants alive. Enjoy the little surprises that pop up, like a sunflower from fallen bird seed or a rose bloom in the early morning. Cut that bloom and bring it inside because the rising temps and blazing sun will scorch it by noon.
Gardeners should keep their own safety in mind first and foremost. While we want our yards to look good, chancing heatstroke is not worth it. It’s okay to take a break for a bit and dream of cooler weather. Our gardens need us to be healthy, too.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
