I wish we could just pick a climate and go with it - Michigan.

11 years ago

Last year, we had record rainfall in Metro Detroit, just under 50" give or take an inch. So of course things were lush and lovely. Made me think about installing things such as hydrangeas and ferns this year.

So, having reworked a couple of major planting beds with said hydrangeas, ferns, rhodies and azaleas, etc., all water loving plants, and we haven't had a good rain for six weeks.

If I rip that all out and put in yucca, prickly pears, and sedum, would that pretty much guarantee it starts to rain like the wet side of Maui????

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Comments (7)

miclino
11 years ago
I know just what you mean. Bone dry and now record heat for the next week. Watering by hand now.
mxk3 z5b_MI
11 years ago
Last year was out of the ordinary - in SE MI we usually we hit drought by end of June or so and lasts a fair amount of the summer (even worse when it lasts into fall) and in some years past it had gotten so dry I wouldn't have been surprised to see tumbleweeds rolling by...

Yep, more than a week of HOT, humid weather predicted. BAH!
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david883
11 years ago
It is MISERABLE here!!!! I'm in SE Michigan too and the weatherman (local 4, of course) said its humid and 76 already... its 5:45am.... Sorta makes me want to cry. The way my yard, house, and hose are all positioned it is a HUGE pain to get the hose out to water all the plants in the yard (I have a little 2 gallon sprayer for containers and such but using that on the whole yard is beyond tedious). I have hydrangeas in back that I LOVE but they look kind of sad right now. So do these other yellow-flowered plants I have (no idea what they are). I had every intention of planting a few things in the ground this weekend or over 4 of july but obviously wont happen with the heat and the rock hard dry ground (and here its DRY - looks like powdered concrete at this point)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
i KNOW!!!!!!

out here in adrian .... on what.. monday or tuesday.. it hit 48 degrees at night..

then wed. 90.. thurs 102 ... and today.. OMG!!!

ken... who did not have 50 inches of rain last year ... ALL the rain went north or south of me.. it either took I94 to the suburbs of Detroit [which include denn] .. or headed south.. and hit greater toledo.. leaving me here.. watering what seemed 24/7 ...
aachenelf z5 Mpls
11 years ago
It's a bit early to say, but the extremes are starting to get on my nerves. Last year we started out with lots and lots of rain through June. Then the faucet got turned off and we barely saw any precipitation for the next 9 months. Combine that with record heat and humidity and I was not a happy camper most of last summer. This year, the rain returned in the spring with some record amounts. Will that hold through the rest of the summer or once again, little to nothing the rest of the year?

Last year I vowed to get rid of the water hogs. This spring I was more optimistic. I don't know. It hasn't rained in over a week. The heat is building. Repeat of last year?

Kevin
chills71
11 years ago
too hot... too dry... I'm trying to get a darn gardenia established here and while I don't mind watering it, I'd rather mother nature did her part too. If I water too much, root rot. If I water too little she's fried. and given the dryness of the surrounding soil and the ever thirsty silver maple...

and I'm sick and tired of the huge number of robins who've stripped my goumi, cherries, serviceberries, and blueberries before things even had a chance to ripen to edibility....

~Chills
linlily
11 years ago
In my area of western PA, we are in a drought. I don't remember ever having a June this dry. Last week, the local newspaper said that we have had less than 2 inches of rain for the month of June. The grass in our front lawn has gone dormant already, looking like it does sometimes in August. Frankly, I don't remember the last really good rain that we had this month. It had to be weeks ago, perhaps it was at the end of May. We are watering constantly, using a sprinkler, and starting at one side of the house and moving it around, and putting it on beds not next to the house, finishing up, waiting a couple of days and starting again. I had dug some volunteer echinaceas for the neighbors and the dirt an inch down is like powder. Most of the beds are mulched but even that hasn't helped much. I've watched rain/storms go above, below and around us. Not much we can do, I guess, but continue to water until Mother Nature kicks in some much needed rain.

Linda

I wish we could just pick a climate and go with it - Michigan.

Comments (7)

miclino

mxk3 z5b_MI

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