THE LAST WORD
I’ve also heard so many gardeners this summer complain that their plants, particularly those in hanging baskets and containers have been a bit ‘meh’ (translation: uninspiring or unexceptional).
Who can blame the plants for looking a bit 'meh'? They signed up for a vibrant, sun-kissed existence, and what do they get? The infamous Scottish summer playing its unpredictable weather tricks on them! Between the exceptionally hot weather in June that made them feel like they were in the Tropics, followed by the incessant, soggy, wrecking ball of rain in July, it's like a rollercoaster ride for our poor plants, and they're probably questioning their life choices right now.
Scotland had its third sunniest June on record with 231.4 hours of sunshine, and daytime temperatures in June were well above normal, most especially in parts of western Scotland. Parts of the Highlands recorded mean maximum temperatures as much as 3.5-4°C above average according to the Met Office*, fooling our plant babies into getting their winter kits off a little too early, although harsh winds (a wind gust of 47 knots/54 mph, was recorded at South Uist, Western Isles, on the 24th June*, passing through like it was auditioning for a superhero movie), soon put a stop to any plant basking in the heat.
Temperature fluctuations like that literally put our plants on a death-defying, rollercoaster ride.
Daily rainfall in the first half of July 2022 rarely climbed above 2mm (0.08in) across Scotland, while this year it has dropped below 2mm only three times, reaching 16.32mm on July 10th*.
Excessive rainfall can quite literally wash nutrients out of the soil. It's like a laundry day gone wild, with all those essential plant goodies getting swept away faster than a kid's ice cream on a scorching day - if we were ever to see one of those again!
Don't be fooled into thinking that because it's been raining so much, that you won't have to water plants. As plants grow, their leaves form a crafty canopy over the soil, a leafy umbrella if you will, and this keeps the rain off the roots where it is needed most. So even after all the rain we have had in July, unbelievably some plants are shielding themselves from the very refreshment they need - you still have to water those hanging baskets and plants in containers.
And it’s this inconsistent watering, that put our plants on a self-destructive mission.
The best way to avoid wilting diva container plants is to make sure they are getting exactly the right amount of water. Both too much and too little hydration could have a major impact on the overall health of your hanging plants.
When a plant becomes overwatered, leaves turn yellow. If the soil does not have a chance to dry out before you water again, or it gets soaked in another summer downpour, the leaves start to wilt.
If your plants have been underwatered, are wilted, and water runs right through the basket when you try to water it, it may need a good soak to rehydrate the parched soil.
A plant is often slow growing because something is wrong: it could be in the wrong place, in the wrong type of soil, suffering from a pest or disease attack, exposed to too much sun or too much shade, inadequately fed or watered, or just washed away in the tsunami of a Scottish summer.
Scottish summer gardening is like an adventure sport oscillating between drought and monsoon, and we're the daredevils trying to keep our plants alive amidst all the chaos of these new climate rules of the game!
Happy gardening!
*https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/summaries/index
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