Warm-weather watering wisdom from the pros

The sun is out, and your garden needs you! Here are some warm-weather tips from Matt and Rob Boyd of Endless Summer landscapers, with some especially good advice about watering plants properly!These are just a few gardening tips for you to consider here in late May/June. Many people seem to think that just because all the plants have been put into their places for the summer and your perennials are blooming, or past bloom, there is no more work to be done. The garden is full of multi-colored flowers, so there must be little or nothing to do. Right? No, there is always work that may be done.Just the watering alone, when the weather is very hot and dry, is important work. The chief thing to remember is never to give water until it is needed, and then to water thoroughly.A mere sprinkling of water with a watercan to plants that are thirsty and needing a good drink is worse than useless. When you water a plant, you've got to get the water down to the roots which is how the plant takes up the water. If you just sprinkle the surface of the soil with a little water, you will only encourage the roots to remain near the surface and they will suffer from the heat of the sun.What you want to do is to make the roots go as deep as possible in search of moisture. Therefore, you need to give enough water to penetrate the soil to a sufficient depth. One really good watering when it is needed is better than half a dozen little sprinklings. Having the roots grow down deep also gets them down to where the nutrients are that the plants need to grow.Mulch can be added around your plants to help preserve water. Not only will this conserve moisture, it will add to the nutrients in the soil as the mulch breaks down and keeps the roots cooler, too. (You are using organic mulch, aren't you?)See you in the garden!- Matt & Rob Boyd