Help Your Annuals “Beat the Heat” this July

Summer has truly arrived in Northern Michigan this July. With temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s, your annual plantings can start to look a little sad. Try these few tricks to help revive your hot plants!

Tip 1

If you are thirsty, so are they! This rule goes for not only annuals but perennials too. If you notice your plant starting to droop, give it a healthy drink of water. Just like us, plants need more water on hotter days. Watering plants can help perk them up in a matter of hours.

Tip 2

Try adding a thin layer of mulch to your container planters. This will help avoid rapid evaporation of water, as mulch holds on to water longer than soil alone.

Tip 3

Be sure to ‘dead head’ your annuals.

1. 1. Deadheading is simply removing the spent flowers or blooms to help keep it blooming longer.
   2. Remove the old flower by pinching off the stem just below the base of the flower.
   3. Just pulling off flower petals is not going to make the flower re-bloom…the entire developing seedpod needs to be removed.
   4. For plants with larger stems, removing the flower may leave a long ugly stem behind. Cutting just above the first leaf will remove the stem and flower while leaving the plant itself unharmed.
   5. Remember some plants do not need to be deadheaded!

Want to learn more about annuals? Check out the blogs below!