Signs of recovery from summer's heat

14 years ago

Hi everyone,

Even before yesterday's rainy weather and the upcoming "cooler" forecast, I've noticed over the last couple of weeks a few plants that were not happy with summer that were starting to perk up. Have you noticed it too in your gardens or around town?

Things like my leafy penstemons (P. parryi, P. superbus, P. eatonii (my favorite)) which entered semi-dormancy and just sulked for the summer, partially wilted, have perked up a bit are have new fresh foliage just starting to emerge from the growing points. Some of my cacti and succulents which are not lovers of hot-nights that were just a bit yellow are returning to green and blue again. My tangerine beauty cross vine is re-blooming now and making some tentative new shoots, and my citrus plants are all making a nice flush of fresh green growth. Hollyhocks that looked almost boiled for most of the summer are now perkier and making new foliage again....the list goes on and on. What about things in your garden? Are you noticing any signs that the lovely autumn weather will be back??

Obviously I grow a ton of plants that rejoice in our long hot summers, so I don't have a whole garden full of summer sulkers, LOL, but the plants that I'm growing which aren't fans of the blast furnace are starting to perk up--are yours?

Take care and happy gardening,

Grant

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Comments (7)

phxplantaddict
14 years ago
My Michelia Alba and Plumeria and Loquats are all looking very nice this week. Angel Trumpets are starting to come back.
thisisme
14 years ago
I don't think it has anything to do with the temps as they are still very high. My bet is its the change in Relative Humidity that has gone from 7-10% to 25-40% over the last week.
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grant_in_arizona
Original Author
14 years ago
Hiya Addict and all,

Great that you're seeing some signs of recovery too. Even though I'm not a fan of winter, I am a fan of late summer/early autumn as we start seeing some rejuvenation in some of our plants. It always happens around this time of year and it's sort of like a second "spring" for our plants.

Anyone else?
Take care and happy gardening,
Grant
goodluckkitty
14 years ago
No progress here! My tomato seedlings are happy in the part shade (first time doing fall tomatoes.) My plumerias are still VERY unhappy, maybe more than even a month ago. I can't wait to start the rest of my fall veggies.

Dale
grant_in_arizona
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi Dale and all,

My plumerias aren't super happy right now either, but are starting to perk up. My one un-named yellow one has been blooming pretty much non-stop since May, though my other four haven't done much. Just a few more weeks and we'll at least be able to get outside early in the morning and say "Aaaah, it's nice out!". I'm glad I'm an early riser so I can enjoy the coolest (or least hot, depending on the season) time of the day.

Keep the updates coming as you start seeds.
Take care,
Grant
desertmama_bhc
14 years ago
Hi All ! I think I'm the only one who can manage to kill a bouganvillia (doesn't matter how I spell it, it always looks wrong !) This has been my third attempt...should I give up ??? Not on the spelling, but on keeping one alive ! LOL

Anyway, so far this summer, I've lost two skyflower plants, one bogey, one red flame grape vine (newly planted this past spring),vincas (can you imagine?), two bottlebrush (planted this spring), Mexican heather, a bush morning glory...but Gracie, my gardenia is doing just fine ! go figure !

I'm thankful for my precious portulacas, elephant bushes and willow acacia trees (the only thing in my yard that grow like weeds, that AREN'T weeds !)

Here in Bullead City, the temps are starting to drop to just over 100, humidity is now in double digits ! Ahhh, the signs of Fall !

We even had a rainstorm the other night ! A good soaking, too ! Although there were several areas in town that were damaged by the wind...power lines down, etc. No damage to me and mine, luckily...

My roses are struggling, valiantly blooming poor pitiful blossoms, some with only 4-5 petals total ! but they're alive, if not well ! I keep telling them "hang on, it's going to get better!"

Knock on wood for me! My three citrus babies are surprisingly well ! I have just dared to remove their shade cloths ! but I'm keeping them handy, in case there's a hot spell!

I took a walk through the garden center at Walmart the other day; pitiful ! what little was there was either dead, or half-dead ! Still with full-price stickers, however !

I'm ever hopeful, though, for my gardening efforts to show some promise...I'm confident that the canna rhizomes (?) I planted this past spring will show some growth eventually ! LOL
grant_in_arizona
Original Author
14 years ago
Hiya Mama and all,

Fun post! Thanks so much for sending it in. Sorry about your plant losses--I'm sure we've all had some casualties this year as well. I know I've had a ton of successes but a few failures as well. The best gardeners kill the most plants (by trying new things, or unusual combinations, etc). :)

If you want to try replacing some of the plants you lost, mid to late September is a great time to try. I think a lot of leafy things like you mentioned do better when planted in autumn, so that might help a bit. If you give them a (re)try, let us know how it goes.

I see a lot of roses starting to bloom more often now that the days are getting shorter, and now that the length of time that the day is at its hottest is getting shorter too (102 degrees for two hours is sure different from 102 degrees for seven hours or so, LOL). The blooms do get fried quickly this time of year, but soon they'll last for several days. I pity roses all summer long, and envy them all winter long. Keep us posted on yours.

Bougies are good to try mid September too. I've had great luck with the usual, lanky, vining types which I love, though I tend to kill the upright bushy "torch" types.

I'm ready for autumn. I've got geranium, petunia, begonia and snapdragon seedlings started for autumn through spring blooms, plus I'll get some instant gratification by buying larger plants too. I've seen a smattering of petunias at some local nurseries, but it's still a bit too early for me to plant them outside--despite this weekend's break, it's still pretty toasty for the winter stuff.

Take care all,
Grant

Signs of recovery from summer's heat

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Signs of recovery from summer's heat

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