50 Shades of Green and 50 degree cooler. Photo Credit: Teresa Watkins.
Boy, its been brutally hot. Summers are supposed to be hot, right? It seems it’s been extremely hot for a long time due to the 2023–2024 El Niño weather pattern. This El Niño weather event is the fourth strongest event in meteorological history. That is good news though because it’s only the 4th hottest El Niño, not the hottest. And La Niña should be here by August. La Nina will bring us a drier and warmer winter. Which means that we will see more hurricanes on one hand, but shorter periods of cold temperatures. We will still have freezes but less likely to last longer or get extremely cold. What does this mean for gardening in Florida?
It means that our normal rain patterns will still be sparse (our winters are dry anyway) but if you get two inches or more a week, and you have planted “right plant, right place,” that’s all your landscape needs. Most water management districts have some form of water restrictions. If you need more water, you can still irrigate up to two times a week if you do not get rainfall. Watering more when you are in a drought is not helpful.
Here are some more tips to help your landscape survive:
· Hold off on fertilizing till October.
· Freshen up the soil in your containers and hanging basket. Mix the old potting soil with new soil with moisture control ingredients. If you have all roots in your pots, you can cut one-third of the root system without too much stress on your plants.
· Check out my Landscape Malpractice Tip #27 to assess your or your landscaper’s mulching practices.
· Let your grass grow longer. Mow only when it reaches five inches and only take an inch off each mowing. Grass that is scalped and mown shorter (supposedly so you do not have to mow as often) will stress out more, causing it to need to be watered more frequently, and be more susceptible to insects.
The film industry awards are announced each Spring, but I have a major winner for Teresa’s Plant of the Month. What if you could have a shrub that did not need pruning, had more blooms, beautiful flowers that lasted three days, and attracted pollinators? That would be a winner, right? Every landscape and pool garden should have these tropical beauties. Even one of each color! Check out Teresa’ Plant of the Month!
And as always, I have what to do in your landscape for July. It is not a lot – it’s just too hot. If you are having to treat for insects and disease right now, July is the perfect time to take advantage of this heat to solarize your garden and raised beds. You can read the University of Florida’s instructions on how to solarize correctly here.
I hope you can get away to take a vacation to beat the heat. Tony and I led a fabulous garden tour this month to Ireland. Surprisingly, the high and low temperatures were in the 40’s and 50’s Fahrenheit, which is cooler than normal for Ireland in July. it Is heavenly. It stays light till 10pm, too. I have found with this tour more garden inspiration! I have lots of new landscape design ideas, more flower and shrub varieties to grow in Florida, and more gardening information to share with you, in the months ahead. If you are interested in traveling with me on future garden tours, check out the 2025 Art in Bloom Garden Tours. It would be so cool to have you along on a trip.
I would love to hear how you are spending your vacation. Let me know in the comments below.
Tale care, and garden with your Soul.
