Newsletter
Stressed Out?
Why be stressed out in the summer? Summer can be a wonderful time of year in Georgia. The pools are open, the weather is gorgeous (if you don't mind the heat,) and there is plenty to do outside. But what about your landscape? If the wrong type of plant material was chosen, planted improperly, or at the wrong time of year, summer can be a dangerous time of year for much of your landscape.
It has been widely thought that spring is a great time to install new plant material, while it is better than summer, it is not the best time. Fall and winter plantings are the most successful times of year to install new plant material. This is because the soil temperatures are lower and the soil retains water longer than during the hot days of summer, where the water evaporates from the soil. Along with the cooler soil temperatures, installing in fall and winter gives the plant material the longest time to establish a sustaining root structure before the heat has a chance to affect them.
During low rainfall it is wise to be conscientious of what you are choosing to install. Hardy woody plant material does best in warm, drought areas. Mulch or pine straw is an essential factor in retaining moisture for plant material. Painting of the pine straw or mulch, while aesthetically pleasing and cost effective, does not do the job that the mulch was put there to do; keep moisture in the ground. Mulching is one of the best ways to conserve moisture in the soil. Fine-textured mulches such as pine straw, pine-bark mininuggets or shredded wood mulch hold moisture in the soil better than coarse-textured mulches. Spread mulch not just under the canopy, but as far beyond the canopy as you can, since roots extend two to three times the canopy spread.
Summer pruning may be necessary to reduce the leaves' demand on the roots. If a tree or shrub wilts or begins to show leaf scorching or other stress symptoms, thin the canopy by one-third to one-half, depending on the severity of the stress. With selective thinning cuts, you can reduce the size of the canopy without destroying the plant's shape.
During periods of heat and drought stress, avoid any further stresses on the plants' roots. Fertilizing a drought-stressed plant is one of the worse things you can do. Chemically, fertilizers are salts. They will pull water from the roots, dehydrating them further. Avoid disturbing the roots by digging, too, or suffocating them by placing soil over them.
Look at using Xeriscapes. Xeriscape-type landscaping is a package of seven common-sense steps for making a landscape more water-efficient:
- Planning and Design
- Soil Analysis
- Appropriate Plant Selection
- Practical Turf Areas
- Efficient Irrigation
- Use of Mulches
- Appropriate Maintenance
Each of these steps is a good gardening practice. However, the more of them you implement, the more water efficient your landscape becomes.
A Xeriscape-type landscape can reduce outdoor water consumption by as much as 50 percent without sacrificing the quality and beauty of your home environment. It is also an environmentally sound landscape, requiring less fertilizer and fewer chemicals. And a Xeriscape-type landscape is low maintenance -- saving you time, effort and money. Any landscape, whether newly installed or well established, can be made more water efficient by implementing one or more of the seven steps. You do not have to totally redesign your landscape to save water. Significant water savings can be realized simply by modifying your watering schedule, learning how and when to water, using the most efficient watering methods and learning about the different water needs of plants in your landscape.
Lastly, begin to think about what to do with your landscape for the fall. This will be the ideal time to upgrade a property's appearance. Any enhancement work or new installs should be scheduled for this time of year. When dealing with your landscape think cooler months for planting, not "spring is best."