The only thing doing well here are the weeds. The humidity is overwhelming.

In this part of the South, we're getting drenched on a daily basis. For the past 8 days we've had torrential downpours every afternoon. The heavy rain started today at about 4:00 pm, lasted until 5:30 or so . . . then began again around 7:00. Now at 9:00 it's abated somewhat, but still raining . . . Tomorrow and the day after, I'm told, we're due to experience the same.

Joshtx... There are some plants that love the heat; one is the lantana plant. My day lilies are re blooming in a pot in full sun. It is 108 today, wont dip below 100 until about midnight, and will hit 117 by Saturday. It is not insanely hot yet; that's July and August, and it is hotter in Phoenix, AZ for example. Sometimes I look to see what they grow, and if the plant can handle the colder temps. here during the winter, I try it.
I have roses that get 8 hours of heat, and they are healthy, but I have tossed many scorched roses to find the ones that work. Our local rose society has a list and everything they listed was tried and true. I have Austin's that survived, but I had to learn where to put them; filtered sun was enough for Golden Celebration. Abraham Darby was not a happy camper. There's some trial and error, experts in your area are usually really familiar with plant limitations, and you may need to experiment . You can get your garden...

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jun 28, 13 at 12:46

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. Here at the CA coast -- where almost no one has air conditioning -- the heat is steadily climbing. If it makes 100 here by Sat. or Sun. (with high humidity) I will not be surprised.

Even DH is talking about getting in the motorhome and leaving.

Jeri

Yup, the heat is here. In the mountains of northern California the day temps were in the mid-60s with rain at the beginning of the week. As of today we are in the mid-90s and will be in triple digits within the next couple of days ... it depends on which weather-liar you listen to as to whether or not it will be tomorrow or the next day.

The rain was an unusual blessing, but not enough to deep water the roses.

Yes, I am shading some of the newly planted roses, but at least everything is planted. I still have to finish the mulching.

Smiles,
Lyn

I just read today that the snow pack in the Sierras this year was only 17% of what is usual! Unfortunately, most of southern California depends on that snow pack for its water, and that really raises the question of how we're going to get through the summer. It was close to 100 today with at least a week more to come. My lantana looks dead, but the two vitex I put in recently and Grewia occidentalis are doing fine, with copious watering of course. It's going to be interesting to see what makes it through the summer, always assuming we aren't hit with water restrictions, which wouldn't surprise me.

I'm going to repeat what I said last summer, and that's to kindly ask everyone to put out water in various places for the wild animals, who are going to suffer a great deal in this drought. I have two bird baths and three water bowls out so that everyone can reach water at any time. Because of the heat I have to refill them several times a day but that's a small chore considering what a difference it will make to the lives of these creatures who had nothing to do with creating global warming. I also think the unpredictable weather patterns and increasing tornadoes and hurricanes are going to take a toll on every living thing in their path, not to mention the financial burden it will place on our country.

Ingrid

Josh
Even PDX is hitting unseasonable highs. We're supposed to reach 98 on Monday and 99 degrees on Tuesday! Yeesh, I might as well move back to TX. :-)

Ingrid
The water bowls are out and waiting for thirsty critters. I'm probably keeping my neighbor's rats alive along with the local birds and squirrels. A fledgling crow hung out on our porch a couple of weeks ago. It was the sweetest thing. I was worried that a prowling cat might get it, saw no signs of parent crows, and called the Audubon Society. The volunteer talked my husband through the baby crow approach. We inspected closely (just a visual check) to see if the little guy was okay. The fledgling cowered a bit and then flew off to the caws of other crows. Mom and Dad must have been in the tree above. Apparently we're not threats or the parents would have swooped us. Nice to know that crows have given us a thumbs up.

Jeri
100 degrees and no AC?!?
Oh, wait. I don't have AC either.

Carol

This post was edited by PortlandMysteryRose on Fri, Jun 28, 13 at 2:15

Ingrid,

I like that idea! Though I'm not certain what kind of critters my water bowl may help (I live in the middle of a copy and paste suburban neighborhood with no stray cats), I will keep it there in case it is needed.

It sounds like everyone is hunkering down for a blazer of a summer. I can't even imagine what July and August are going to be like here if it is already this hot. Yeesh.

Josh

I was just griping about rose toast all over the desert West on the Rose Forum. Our next 10 days will be 100-107 degree weather, starting tomorrow. And we've had only about 4 inches of rain since Jan.1. The prediction for the next three months in the arid West is for temps higher than normal. Oh goody. Diane

Bah! sitting here again enduring grey, grey skies, temperatures barely nudging the 60s and miserable drizzling rain. I can cope with weather (obvs, being a gardener and ex-landscaper) but nothing is so dreary as the combination of low cloud and damp drizzle - even a full-on thunderstorms would be better. I have an unfortunate tendency to sit and worry, when not out and about being active. On a more dismal note, it looks like the UK is gearing up for another wash-out summer of heavy flooding, unharvested crops, blight and other fungal delights. I already have no plums and scant cherries because we got hit with late frosts and low pollination....and meteorologists are claiming this 'cycle' is likely to last a decade at least. Along with the parlous state of our economy (have been absolutely beaten into submission, not even managing to eat, much pay for utilities) we are all feeling worried about the next week, never mind next season.

My best wishes to everyone enduring these summer days.

Did I hear correctly that temps in CA's Death Valley are now poised to break the record for the highest temp ever recorded on the planet? I think that's what I heard on GMA as I was rushing around this morning. Scary stuff . . .

I and my roses will be suffering through the heat this weekend, here in hot hot Phoenix. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter every year, as we all know. If they would stop the incessant, insane endless building around here, that might help some.

I have a small pond in my backyard which is sort of a pain to keep up (mostly because the pumps don't last very long). But, I keep it for the birds that use it regularly for water. I could never take it out; I feel like they are counting on me!

I had wondered at what amount of rainfall it would take to smooth out some of the river and stream floodplains in the eastern US.

We've gotten some answers in the past couple of years. Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in places in the east where flooding isn't common.

Now we see that the high ridge over the western US and the "Bermuda" high set up a water delivery system to us.

So far, in June, 12.25" of rain, not for the year, but for June. (We had 12.86 in January as well.)

No wonder early settlers here avoided building on the flood plains at all, or if unobservant, more than once.

Trees and weeds haven't stopped growing. We should have been planting northern European vegetables for summer and fall consumption.

Even roxbergii hasn't stopped blooming, a first for our very old (many decades old) plant.

Campanula,

How I wish we could could borrow some cooler days, and give you some of our heat and sun. I find myself staying inside too right now for the opposite reason: it is far too hot to do anything at all. Any gardening must be done within the last hour of the waning daylight if dehydration and hear exhaustion is to be avoided.

To all of my friends in Tennessee, Arizona, and similar zones,

Having been born in Texas, I am used to seeing uncomfortable heat and humidity. But this year, as you have all pointed out, seems to be poised to be a doozy. Solidarity, though! We will all be okay! After all, who is better at working with, against, and beside Mother Nature than us gardeners? We shall soldier on. (AnnTn6b, I am quite jealous of your lush sounding conditions, however.)

Oh My,

I cannot think about it getting hotter than usual here!!! It will be 117 tomorrow. I remember hearing a preview for a newscast about breaking records regarding weather, but I left the car before the information was aired; now I know.

I feel for you guys where it is hot and humid. Due to our very low humidity in Las Vegas ( we average 4.5" of rain in an entire year), 108 is like 103, but when an area like Florida has a 90 degree day with 65% humidity, what the body feels is like 102.7 degrees. High levels of humidity makes the heat worse; that is for humans. Roses begin to distress when the temperature hits the high 80's.

I know that the earth has experienced these warming and cooling cycles forever essentially, but geesh, I hope the heat does not escalate by much, or at all beyond the trend it is on.

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jun 28, 13 at 15:20

ah Josh - just a bit of sour grapes here so thanks for the kind thoughts....and yep, I can recall being prostrate with heat and that horrible race to water those poor plants lying shrivelled and wilted........In truth, grey skies are not going to actually kill us - unlike the dreadful heatwaves which saw off pensioners in cities across Europe a few years ago (we don't do air conditioning here). So yep, slap on my wrist for inappropriate whining.....and hoping for cool breezes in your direction.

Josh,

You folks in Texas still do not widely use drip irrigation? You would be hard pressed to find a home here in Las Vegas built less than 15-20 years ago that does not have it; and most others have added it. It is more efficient, and I have not lost a plant to the heat in a very, very, long time; now losses due to the cold during the winter, that would be a different story....

Everything is healthy, nothing is burned or fainting, the lantana, yellow bells, agapanthus, and lavender are blooming. Flower carpet roses are beginning to start a second flush for the season and my Don Juan and Joseph's Coats are developing new buds. Glamis Castle is healthy ( 8 hours of sun including the afternoon) It has been in the 100's since May....

Lynn

Hey, Lynn.
At least Portland is only hitting 99. (Ha.Ha.) I feel rather sheepish after bragging about our cooler weather. Mother Nature sure made a fool out of me! A heat wave at this time really is unseasonable...I hope. Still planning to move to the area?

Josh
I think my sister in Dallas waters her garden around midnight. No joke. She dunks herself in mosquito repellent, turns on the floodlights, and goes at it. Our father was an electrical engineer that designed Weathermatic sprinkler system controllers and such, but ironically, no one in our family actually owns a sprinkler system. We're all on hoses.

Carol

Yes, indeed, drip irrigation, plus micro sprinklers plugged into the drip system, are my garden's saviors. If you don't have a drip system, consider installing one. Still, I could do with a little more rain. Diane

What gripes me as much as the heat is working in an older body ! Dang ! I can't get as much work done in the same time period as I did last year. Not only that, but my endurance is down so I can't work as long as I used to in the past.

I was up and out early this morning, but had to quit even before the day temps hit the 90s because I was too pooped to do even one more thing ... and there were still a lot of one-more-things to be done before it got hot. Arrrrrrgggggggggghhhh !

Lyn .... I need a break before I can come up with a smile.

PortlandMysteryRose,

We hope to move to the PNW, but it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride lately, and no matter what; it will be a complicated situation; there is just no way around it.

Neither of us wants to remain in Las Vegas. I am addicted to gardening, we both like the outdoors, seafood, berries, and the list goes on. And in terms of education, there is basically no place to go but up.

How is the humidity in PDX today?

nanodoll, what are micro sprinkers and what do you use them for?

Lynn

Lynn
Humidity. Well, it's not Florida (or Houston), but I'm a cool weather girl, so I don't like it out there. Hardly been beyond the threshold today, and we're only at 85. Alaska is looking seductive....

Roseblush
I immediately age about 100 years when I'm exposed to hot temps. I'm guessing the Fountain of Youth is located somewhere near the Arctic Circle. Perhaps the source of longevity is actually an Iceberg of Youth.

Carol

Lyn (roseblush), I feel your pain--my old body has just about had it the last few days of infernal heat. Let's just say that 70 is only a few years away for me--my body that is. The rest of me is about 15--heheh.
Lynn in the desert, microsprinklers are a few inches high and connected by a tube to the drip hose. I also use sprinklers that are a bit taller that send water out at 360, 180, and 90 degrees. They are connected to the drip hose the same way as the micros. I mostly use the micros and the 360s. They water perennials and annuals that fill in around the roses, and even give the roses a little extra. The emitter ends are on the roses, shrubs, and trees only. With the little sprinklers, nothing gets left out in watering. My son in law and I designed and set it up, and it's an ongoing thing as the garden changes, etc. The parts are all available at HD and on line. It does take some time and thought to get it all going, but boy, was it worth it. Diane

nanadoll... I had a"lapse in memory moment "

I tried the micros...or I should say at that time the landscaper put them in, and unfortunately most of the annuals I put in did not like wet leaves so there were issues. I did find a way around that problem by using little soaker hoses that connect o the drip line. I am at the point now if I cannot sow the seed right into the ground, or it isn't a perennial, it doesn't appear in my rose bed . I have become increasingly frugal, well, except for buying roses, and do not want to dig all of those holes. Unfortunately, the only annual making a regular appearance is sweet alyssum.

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Jun 29, 13 at 10:17

I happened upon a long-range weather forecast on TV and, boy, was that depressing. At least until through September almost the whole of the western US will experience very high temperatures and drought conditions. Being an animal lover, my heart breaks for the extreme hardship wildlife will experience, with very little water and the constant heat. People without air conditioning will be in danger, and you have to wonder how the power grid will hold up with excessive AC usage. Even Alaska is experiencing a heat wave! Apparently we have the choice of staying here or moving to a state where there's constant flooding. Right now the happy medium seems to be eluding us.

Ingrid

Heat or floods. Hmmm. I'm not much of a swimmer. Alaska, too, Ingrid? It might be time for a voyage to Scandinavia. My husband is largely Finnish and Norwegian. Perhaps we can apply for sanctuary.

How are you holding up, Josh? We're hitting 90 today if the meteorologists are accurate. PDX is only about 10 degrees cooler than the Dallas metroplex.

Lynn, due to budget cuts and time spent solely with the little one, I haven't planted much in the way of new, either. My garden has been on autopilot for a couple of years.

Carol

Carol,

We're getting beat up down here but having a pool in the backyard makes the sweltering heat that much more bearable. I had a good laugh at your plan to fall back to Scandinavia. I have half a mind to retreat back to Ireland where my maternal family is!

Josh

It's 107/108 here right now. It was actually only supposed to be 100 or so where I am (close to the bay), so I was out there watering earlier thinking to myself, erm gee, it's sort of warm. lol. My husband was driving through Houston proper and his truck's temp said that it was 110 there. Crazy.

Several blooms, which looked pretty good yesterday, are deep fried today. The front garden is taking the full brunt of the heat till the sun goes down. I can see from my window (cause I aint goin' out there), that most of the blooms are pretty fried, especially Lady Emma Hamilton. I'll be giving it all a good soaking in the morning.

My little gallon plant of Tipsy Imperial Concubine looked pretty fantastic earlier. Probably the best looking flower in the garden right now. I'll have to snap a few of the crispy critters as well.

brittie, that's a really lovely rose. Amazing how well it's held up in your heat.

It's 105 degrees here today and we were just outside trying to help a bird that had collapsed from the heat. We sprayed it with water and then gave it some water to drink when it revived somewhat. I hope it will survive.

Ingrid

Bless you, Ingrid!

Carol

Well, it is 113 near the airport and 120 in the city of Las Vegas:( I am glad to be home now. I won't look outside at the moment to see how the plants are holding up...it's too hot!

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Jun 29, 13 at 22:22

Diane....... My younger brain just hasn't recognized that it is working with a less efficient tool ... my older body. My timing is off... everything takes longer to get done than it used to take. I think this is the last year I am going to take on any major planting projects. My older body is demanding that I take things in smaller bites ! I do need to figure out the drip irrigation thing. I have a start, but the way it is currently set up, even when I leave the system on for four hours, the whole root mass does not get enough water.

Carol ... now that everything has had its deep watering, I am going to try follow your example and stay inside as much as possible. I do need to finish mulching the rose beds, but there is no way I am going to get all of that done in this heat.

Brittie ... no crispy blooms for this heat spell as I have been disbudding all of the roses for the last four weeks to keep rose curculios from breeding in my garden. Disbudding ends today ! The other good news is that disbudding triggers the roses to put out more foliage, so they are more heat tolerant.

Ingrid ...I've read that more birds die of thirst than from lack of food. Lots of people put out bird feeders but never put out water for the birds. Good for you.

Josh ... thanks for being a cheerleader and reminding us that we will get through this.

Smiles,
Lyn