Fuchsias, in particular, are plants that prefer the cooler weather and have taken a beating in this heat.
So, what to do to help your fuchsias get through this hot period? The plants in the garden are more able to regulate their temperature and moisture levels. This would particularly be the case if you had mulched your plants earlier in the season. The mulch benefits the plants immensely by keeping the roots cool and moist in the heat.
Those in containers, however, do suffer. The pots, particularly the plastic ones, can get very hot and almost "cook" the roots. The plants' leaves will start to droop and our natural reaction is to give it some water. Always check first how heavy the pot is, or, if it is too big to lift, stick your finger in the mix to check the moisture level. If the pot is light and dry, give it a good watering. If the water goes straight through and the pot still feels light, put a drip tray under the pot to allow the plant to soak up more water. Most potting mixes are bark based, which, when they dry out, are difficult to re-wet. Another trick is to mix a wetting agent in with the water. You can mix a squirt of dishwashing liquid into the watering can and water your plants to help wet the potting mix.
If, however, the pot is heavy and the mix is wet, just give the foliage a fine spray with plain water. This helps to cool the plant and assist it in trying to balance its loss of moisture through the leaves (transpiration). DO NOT give the plant any more water as this can literally "drown" the roots and could even kill the plant. As many plants are killed by over-watering as by under-watering!
Another option with smaller potted plants is to place the plant, still in its pot, into a larger pot and line the gap between the two pots with sawdust or shredded newspaper and keep this moist. This acts as an insulator to keep the pot and roots cool.
Your fuchsias may also need to have a light pruning. Take about 20% off the branches. The plant should "tell" you where to prune. Prune just above the new side shoots. This will provide a further flush of flowers before the end of the season.
Also, don't forget to feed with chicken manure (or Bounce/Accelerator) and 5:1:5 for garden plants and chicken manure and 3:1:3 (complete with trace elements) for potted plants. The feeding should be alternated every two weeks. Both garden and potted plants will also benefit from a regular weekly application of foliar feed.
Roses can be dealt with in a very similar way to fuchsias. That means giving a light pruning, feeding and mulching. You may also have to spray a fungicide to combat the black spot, which has been quite prevalent this season. But please make sure that your roses are planted in a well-drained mix. Roses love lots of water but hate being water-logged.
Coming up a talk on "FOOD FROM THE GARDEN":
March is the ideal time to get your veggie gardens going. It is starting to get cooler, bugs reduce in numbers and there are less weeds. I will be sharing with you a system of veggie growing which is organic, easy on your back as it requires little or no digging and produces fantastic veggies.
I will also talk about growing berries, fruit trees and some other out of the ordinary edible fruits.
When: Thursday, 6th March at 9.30 am.
Where: Tanglewood Nursery
What to bring: a folding chair to sit on, sun hat or raincoat (depending on the weather)
Cost: Bring some money to enter our lucky draw.
News supplied by Tanglewood Nursery in Hilton.