Heat may have damaged many plants over the summer. Container plants have suffered the most, and the heat did not spare trees. With all of their dried leaves and dead flowers, you might consider throwing away those plants. But don’t do that, because it’s not over for these plants.
Key takeaways:
- Plants have a transpiration system wherein water evaporates from pores in the leaves to cool down, like how we sweat. The leaves at the edge of the plants are damaged first since the plants cannot provide them with enough water to cool off.
- To help your plants recover from the heat, you may remove the dried leaves to stimulate new growth. You may also cut the stem just above the first undamaged leaf so the plant can regrow again.
- You can temporarily keep your container plants under shade or place a white, cloth-like sheet over them to reflect sunlight.
If you want to read more about saving heat-damaged plants, check out this link: https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/jul/17/gardening-with-allen-cut-back-heat-damaged-plants/.
