Drought Advice & Tips Desperately Needed

Anyone else fighting drought in the western Carolinas? How are you coping? I am in Rutherford County, one of the designated "Most Severe Drought" areas. Questions: Should I fall-plant butterfly bushes, spirea, "gas plants," etc. or try to over-winter them till spring? Because I have a private well and my rural neighbors are dealing with dry wells, watering daily is out of the question. Help!

Very dry in Rockingham County this summer, especially right over my house! Can't count how many storms I watched on radar just miss us. One storm last month raged a couple of BLOCKS away, but our house stayed dry. It's almost funny at this point.

I vote for fall planting. My last-fall-planted perennials did far better than anything I put in this year. Butterfly bushes that were mere sticks in 4-inch pots last fall are now 3 to 4 feet tall and blooming. Best performers for me that have required minimal (once weekly) watering: knockout roses, rudbeckia, butterfly bushes, shasta daisies, marguerites, coreopsis, coneflowers, and monarda. The usual suspects, of course, and I'll be planting more of them this fall. Perennial grasses have been kicking butt, too, even the ones I planted this year. The front yard is about to become a perennial grass garden. To heck with all this needy brown fescue!

Also: HUGE help was using those Soil Moist crystals in each planting hole. At one point I ran out, and the plants without them are struggling more between watering than the ones that got the crystals.

I totally agree with gbird - unless you have a part sun or shade area that needs something I would let anything that gets more then morning sun be until at least a month..it will save you and the plant lots of stress :)~

Okay, fall planting it is. I've never used the Soil Moist crystals outside. Should I use more than package directions indicate? And I know what you mean about "selective showers"-same here. Gbirds, I lived in Reidsville for ten years and there was selective snow, storms, drought, etc. in Rockingham County. But that's where I really learned to garden - in acres of red clay that I dug out every time it rained.

Are any of you using dehumifiers in your home? We have 2 in our basement and when husband drains them, every other day or so, we "capture" almost 3 gallons of water! And "saving water" from our showers. That's how we're watering outside plants. We're in Hendersonville, and like Rutherfordton, we see the storms on radar and they "by-pass" us! We're on "city water", but have "manditory restrictions".
I keep doing my "rain dance"--guess I should've gone to "Arthur Murray", lol!

My husband ran a hose from our air conditioner to a barrel and we are getting about ten gallons of water a day that I use on my plants.

Hey VickieP, we are neighbors!!! I'm in Ellenboro. Well we got a little rain over the last few days, I got about 3/4 inch in my water gauge, ie:dog bowl ! I saw a few things perck up from the rain.. MeganO

Re the SoilMoist: I use the little scooper included in the bag and mix in a scoop with the soil I removed from the hole, plus a little compost. If it's a big hole, then maybe two scoops. A little goes a looong way. Blend the SoilMoist, original soil, and compost well and plant away.

And today Madison got a whopper 1.5-inch storm! I had just mowed the lawn for the first time in a couple weeks, then RAIN! I love when it rains right after I mow. The lawn seems to do so much better.

we had drizzle overnite tuesday and all day wed....wow what a blessing to know when I got up this morning I could actually read a book and enjoy the deck because I didn't have to water!!! and it was cool to boot...yep been doing my happy dance in my head all day...it was a welcome relief for sure!

love those of you recycling the water! I have window ac's - not sure how to capture anything from those but I admire the ingenuity of you both!!

It rained here in Shingle Hollow! I was in Lake Lure when it began to rain and figured the rain wouldn't make it nine miles down the road, but it did. Not even 1/4" but enough to perk up the plants & grass. I too collect water from my a/c for plants. Most of the time I shower in an outdoor shower I had installed and the run-off waters the silver lace vine that covers one of the shower walls. The drought is bringing snakes closer to water, however. My cat was snake-bitten last week (lived) and I saw a black snake in the beech tree next to my porch seeking birds' nests, I guess, plus saw another black snake near the water collection bucket at the a/c. I also have very aggressive hornets called the European hornet that vies for position on the hummingbird feeders. They actually chase the hummingbirds away. Hey, Megano24, glad to meet you.
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