Gardeners' World star Carol Klein has shared two easy steps to protect plants during the upcoming UK heatwave. In a video on Instagram, she emphasized that while the weather cannot be changed, proper watering and mulching can keep plants healthy.
Watering at the Right Time
Carol advises watering plants either first thing in the morning or in the late evening. She explained: "Well we're in a heatwave, and it's really tough going for us humans and also for our plants. Well you can't change the weather, so best thing to do is, first of all, watering." Watering as the sun sets allows plants to absorb moisture effectively, even when supplies are limited.
Mulching to Retain Moisture
Mulching is the second key step. Carol said: "If you haven't already mulched your soil, trapping that moisture underneath, it's not too late. If you've got great compost, bung it on, or composted bark, anything like that, just to retain that water under the surface of the soil." She also noted that plants themselves make the best mulch: "As far as I'm concerned the very best mulch is plants. I tend to put plants close together. That way the soil hardly sees the sun at all and they'll stay as fresh as anything, indefinitely."
Container Plants
For plants in containers, Carol recommends moving them to shade in the morning and returning them overnight or keeping them in a shadier spot until the heatwave passes.
