Too hot for plants what to do?

I live in the PNW and some of my plants are burning up. I am afraid I'm going to lose 2 of my favorite heuchera as they are almost gone. Three of my Jack Frosts are toasty looking. They need full shade at this point. It is going to be 104 tomorrow and the heat looks to be sticking around for the next week. These plants are in borderline areas anyway but the ones nearby are fine. I am hand watering daily but I think it is the sun/heat combo that is the problem. I don't think they like this extreme heat. I want to transplant but am concerned that will be the nail in the coffin for them. Any advice?

Crazy4plants

Get some shade cloth and drape it over them until it cools enough to move them? Seems like the nicer nurseries sell it by the yard.

I'm not sure what kind of heucheras you have, but I have several in full-sun (I live in spokane also). They haven't seemed to mind too much. Some are more heat/sun sensitive than others. I've found that even the shade-loving varieties can get pretty toasted and still come back. They have a thick root that stores food and moisture. I've been watering heavily (45 min to 1.5 hrs. depending on soil type) as soon as I get home from work so that they can drink all night and into the morning and are more prepared for the heat. If you have very sandy or quick draining soil, you may need to do a little more to protect them. Maybe a gallon jug with a fine pin-hole poked in the bottom would help keep their roots moist throughout the hottest part of the day (kind-of a make-shift temporary drip system). Hope that helps.

The two heucheras that are burning up are Shenandoah?? and Marmalade. I have two marmalades within a few feet of the one but I think the sprinkler is spraying over the top and missing it. I My Jack Frost Brunneras are also toasted. 'm not sure about the Shenandoa one. It is right next to a bulbous oat grass that is thriving as well as a green laceleaf Jap maple. It is probably just being blocked for enough water from the grass clump as it has gotten very big this year. I am handwatering but it isn't enough in this heat. I will look for the shade fabric. Never heard of it before. Any idea who would carry it here in Spokane?

Crazy4plants

Sorry for butting in but I just happened to see this thread and I deal with blistering heat and dry weather every summer. Thought I might be able to help.

Burlap is a lot easier to find than shade cloth if you have problems finding the shade cloth. Just make sure it doesn't lay across the plants and take it up before you water because it will get heavy when wet. If this kind of heat is rare for you, you might even just want to dig them up and put them in shady area and then move them back this fall after it cools down.

You can get burlap at Walmart or any fabric store.

Give them plenty of water, preferably in the morning. Hand watering is probably not enough. If you water them deeply enough, even with the heat you should be able to at least skip a day unless your soil is extremely rocky and fast draining.

You'r right that the sun is probably doing them more damage in combination with the dryness, though. I can't think of growing any heucheras or hostas in the sun here. They just fry.

Do you have any old bedsheets?. They are lightweight and depending on how much area you want to shade, can cover a lot. I push stakes into the ground and rubberband the sheets to the stakes.
Another quick remedy for short plants is a lawn chair, as long as the chair legs won't crush the plant's neighbours, this works in a pinch. Easily placed (well - sometimes, not!)
If you are able to water deeply, your plants ought to be just fine. If the plants in question are moisture lovers, i would water deeply and use the "gallon jug w/holes" idea that Will offered. I have done this and it has worked quite well.
In any case, give the plants a good soaking and cut off the crispy parts - the plants will recover.

hi, i happened to drop by this thread, i too live in spokane. small world! sorry, but i don't have those plants to offer info, but i had a question for ,crazy4plants & will, have you guys tried your hand at gardenias? i'm having a bit of trouble getting them to bloom. any addvice?

I didn't think gardenias were hardy here in our zone. I thought they were tropical or sub tropical, zone 7 or higher. I have not seen them here but that doesn't mean they won't make it as this area does have some varation. City is warmer here than many of the low lying outlying areas.

Crazy

crazy4plants, i grow them indoors. by the way i just looked at your web pics. WOW! did you do all that work yourself? i'm in the middle of putting a pond in my back yard is it difficult? i plan on doing it myself. it's going to be about 20 feet wide and about 10 or 15 feet long. yours is breathtaking!

Dear Yvette,

I planted all the plants and did the design, but we had someone build the water feature, my son in law did the pavers and my husband did the outdoor kitchen. We had a friend of a friend do the pergola and another friend do the irrigation and plant the trees. Our pond is spotless, no maintenance other than fall emptying and spring cleaning. It is crystal clear, chlorinated and well built. NO FISH. Building it is easy compared to maintenance so I would consider getting an expert involved if you can afford it. Actually getting the rock and water flowing over is very difficult.

Thanks for the compliments on the yard. Our last one did not have an adequate chlorination system and we had to empty and power wash it every month. It was a major stinky hassle.

Crazy

crazy, i did not know that you can chlorinate a pond. i was thinking of putting fish in mine, is this a bad idea? yeh, getting it done by pros is out of my budget. if i do put fish will it not be clear?

If you want fish, you need a special filtration system to keep it clean. Fish poop in the water, so the water will never be like a chlorinated pond. Plants also help with the eco system. I would do as much research as you can ahead of time. Koi Gardens in the valley could probably help you as well. And I would get someone to advise you on what kind of filtration for the type of pond you are building. If you dont' get it installed correctly at the start, it can be almost impossible to fix it.

Crazy

A big part of a successful fish pond or stream is getting the correct biological filtration and pond design. Certain bacteria do a excellent job at keeping the water fresh and healthy for fish. It is also very important to keep the water out of direct sunlight to avoid algea blooms. The pond should be deep (four feet or more) to regulate the water temperatures and keep the fish from freezing solid over the winter. Weather you do it yourself or have it constructed by a professional it is worth doing it right. You will ultimately hate your pond if it becomes a smelly, green, soupy, belly-up maintenance nightmare.

I had a landscape instructor who had developed a sophisticated table that rated the maintenance requirements for many kinds of landscape elements and planting types. Ponds and water features were listed in two locations. The first, a properly designed and installed water feature, was neck-and-neck with concrete and paved surfaces...i.e. virtually no maintenance. The second, improperly designed and installed water features, was located right at the bottom of the list (next to lawns) requiring large amounts of weekly or even daily maintenance.

crazy4plants,

By the way your stream is wonderful. I would love to see even more photos. Great job!! I subscribe to Sunset magazine...in what month will it be published? I'll definately be keeping my eyes open for it.

I'll send the link from the pics I took a month ago. Thanks for the compliments on the pond. Those are the most updated pics I have. Sunset said it would be 2009 but it could be sooner. They wanted to send a second photo crew but we were out of time. I had a granddaugther due the next week and was not going to be available. Now some areas are burning up. Ouch!

The pond stays extremely clean. I have seen so many chlorinated ponds that re dirty and so many fish ponds that are gross. I don't think the average person understands the science involoved and regret doing it without proper research. It is not a cheap hobby. We wanted a wading pond with stepping stones that lead inside and bench rocks to sit on inside the water. It isn't really for swimming but our grandkids love to walk in it and sit and play.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/559437019rWOgMW

Crazy4plants

Incredible! Thanks for the photos. I really liked seeing some of the construction shots.

Thanks. I think construction is interesting. Wish I had taken more photos before the dirt was moved in.

My plants are still suffering. I dug up two astibles and moved them to a solid shade area that is damp. If they don't make it, I'm dumping them. They look dreadful. As soon as it cools down, I'm moving three of my Jack Frost brunneras. They are not improving enough and they were expensive. One of the heurcheras died and I moved the remnants hoping for a revival. The other one looks better as I've been dumping water on it by hand. I get depressed looking at this extreme heat. Some of my more tender plants are suffering. I have been hand watering and we doubled all of our irrigation times. I hand water what areas seem dry but the heat is relentless right now.

crazy4plants

Often plants will look a little worse-for-the-wear in this kind of heat. I think that most brunneras look pretty sad by the end of the season. I have a dwarf perrenial forget-me-not that is a mound of gorgeous blue early in the spring but by early summer it is brown and pretty much dead. However, it looks just as increadible the next year. Some plants don't do the 'year-round-interest' thing very well (most spring bulbs for example). The trick is finding the right combination of plants so that you can hide the dead foliage as the season progresses.