Drought Tips

Here are some drought tips that Blue Iris Recommends for your garden:

Trees and Shrubs

Mature trees and shrubs don’t need frequent watering so can withstand long droughts. However this can not be said for young newly planted plants. Always apply water over the plants surface so that the rootball and soil is saturated.

Hedges

Established hedges can withstand drought whereas new ones need to be watered. If the drought is persistent young hedges start to lose foliage and bare patches begin to emerge in Conifer hedges. A long term idea is replacing Conifers with more deciduous hedges like a Hornbeam.

Fruit

Fruit plants need watering to be juicier and more flavoursome, well-watered fruits are also better in colour and size. Adding mulch in the winter is a future way to improve the soil and therefore will retain more water in droughts; this will keep the plants nice and moist.

New ground

Moisture escapes and is lost when digging or general soil turnover is in process. To avoid this from happening hoe the weeds, as shallow as possible. Add a small amount of liquid fertiliser as added nutrients will help the soil keep much-needed moisture.

Beds and Borders

Early summer perennials such as irises can survive on a lack of water whereas late summer perennials need moisture. These include Phlox and Rudbeckias. A good watering as new flowers begin to emerge is enough for the perennials to survive.

Waste water

In serious droughts, you can water plants with washing up water as in most cases detergent used are not harmful to gardens.

Although droughts do disrupt our plants there are ways we can keep our gardens looking beautiful with the simple drought tips listed in this article. If you would like more information or would like our assistance in your garden then please contact us for a free quote.