Planting in the Heat

Wait for a gray day. A cloudy, overcast day is ideal for planting anytime, but it's imperative when planting during the summer months. You can also plant late in the afternoon or early evening so the plants can settle in overnight.

If clouds aren't on the horizon, then consider creating a little homemade shade. Shade cloth cuts anywhere from 20 to 95 percent of the sun's rays. Just place it over stakes or some sort of frame, and your plants will be protected. You can also limit your planting to shade-lovers, and you don't have to worry about providing any additional protection.

Use plant liners. In extremely dry areas, consider using a plant liner when setting out new plants, especially those with shallow root systems. Liners will help keep moisture within the root zone. After preparing the planting hole, line it with landscape fabric, stab a few holes in it and complete the planting process as usual; make sure you water well.

Dunk your plants. Prior to planting, soak your plants to get them off to a good start, and you won't have to worry about their roots drying out during those first critical hours in the ground. Either water well beforehand or dunk the container plant into a bucket of water. After it's soaked, remove it from the bucket and drain well.

Use polymer crystals. Polymer crystals are water-absorbing crystals, and they do work. While most people use them only for potted plants because containers dry out quickly in hot weather, crystals do a fine job when mixed in garden soil. Place your plant in its hole, but before filling the hole, add a handful of crystals to the excavated soil and blend well. Then gently pack the soil around the root ball of the plant. These crystals will help retain soil moisture and prevent wilt, and they last forever.

Don't fertilize. Fertilizing when it's hot encourages plants to grow at a rapid pace and increases the plant's water needs, which makes plants more susceptible to the stresses of heat and drought. Withhold conventional fertilizers and use only a diluted mixture of, say, manure or compost tea (a handful of compost steeped in water for an hour or two) as a source of nutrients.

Prune lightly. After planting, lightly prune or pinch back leggy growth, weak or broken stems and dried foliage to strengthen the plant. Pruning also reduces moisture loss through the leaves and decreases water demand; don't get carried away, though.

Use an anti-transpirant. Anti-transpirants are most often used during the winter to reduce water loss in evergreens, but they come in handy during the summer as well and for the same reason. Wax- or latex-based sprays work by sealing the microscopic openings in plant leaves so that water can't escape as rapidly. Before using them, read the label carefully to make sure the one you've chosen is safe to use on the plant in question. Apply anti-transpirants during periods of moderate temperatures, and reapply as your plants grow.

It's best to set out new plants during the spring or fall, but when the planting bug bites in the middle of summer, temptation to stick something in the ground is difficult to resist. With these planting tricks, chances are your plants will be able to weather the weather.