First and foremost, let it be said I am not a fan of ninety-degree weather, not even if I'm on vacation, and Monday and Tuesday almost killed me. I drank more water in a day than I normally do in a week. 

Our plants aren't big fans of those temperature swings either. It is one thing to get ninety-degree weather in July and August, but by then the plants have been in the ground or large containers for a month or two, and they have strong root systems able to supply the foliage with enough water to remain cool. But in mid-May those root systems are not formed yet, and this heat could quickly cause problems. I was happy it was only a couple days and those days turned into a good teaching tool for both customers and store staff alike. 

By Tuesday with the sun blazing down I started holding seminars almost on how to properly water hanging baskets on hot days. First off, water early in the morning. As the plants heat up during the day, they do not want cold water to be sprayed on them, this can damage their leaves. Furthermore, during the heat of the day plants in hanging baskets will tend to droop, this doesn't necessarily mean they need water. You need to check the basket by lifting it to see if it feels heavy or light. If it is heavy, it has plenty of water and the plant is only drooping because it is trying to prevent all the moisture in the leaf from evaporating from the underside of the leaf. By drooping the plant is preserving itself and when the weather cools off in the evening the plant will perk right back up. If you end up watering a plant that is already wet enough, you can run into root rot and fungus. That can kill a plant almost as quickly as not watering at all. 

Morning is the best time to water, but because some of these days have been so hot you probably have to water in the evening as well. Watering containers and baskets in the evening generally isn't a problem, but watering gardens and flowerbeds in the evening can lead to a couple of issues. The first of which is fungus as leaves stay wet for prolonged periods of time and the second is slugs. Both fungus and slugs like moist soil through the night which why it's best to wet them early in the day and put them to bed dry. If you have to water late in the day, don't water any of the plant just the soil around the base. This way it won't encourage the spread of fungus. 

As far as the slugs go, there are a couple of good slug control products available that are an Iron Phosphate base, which when broken down are two fertilizers that your plants want anyway. Iron is used to green up your plant’s stems and leaves and Phosphorus is needed for fruit or flower production. This type of slug control is safe to use in the garden as well as your flowerbeds. 

And now that the weather has warmed up and we have made it to Memorial Day Weekend, it is the unofficial start of the planting season. Gardens will be tilled, flowerbeds mulched, flowering baskets hung, and window boxes replanted. For your containers, if you are potting them up yourself, I recommend using new soil instead of the leftover soil in your containers as new soil will have more minerals and elements readily available to your plants, but don't throw away the old soil. It is still good to use that in your flowerbed or garden to enrich your soil. 

Container mix soils usually have peat moss, perlite and vermiculite in them to loosen soil, add water retention and aerate all at the same time, so mixing it into your garden is a good idea instead of just dumping it out back or in a low spot in the yard. I know this weekend’s weather isn't great for going out on the lake or barbecuing, but it is good for getting your planting done so you can enjoy the eighty degree weather that's coming in the next seven to ten days.