Dying plants.

It is actually blowing a hooley at the moment here and my poor plum tree is taking a right thrashing. We were looking forward to our first decent crop this year. Hope I don’t find them all on the floor when we come back from holiday!

Me too Nellie - given up on the summer bedding, wonder if my rockery plants and alpine troughs will every be glorious again. The only thing that seems to like this hot weather is the lavender.

Is anyone else tearing their hair about the drought damage. I can't get a trowel in the ground and any plants i wanted to move will be safer where they are. I have been watering my big shrubs . Any cheap bedding is non existant.
Good plants are safer where they are . All the garden work I was going to do this summer is not happening. I am just managing to keep the stuff I have alive. This weather is awful for gardening. Another week of 30c.

jalima
Well spotted with the cordyline.
It's been a funny old year with plants. My neighbour, who is a big fan of Busy Lizzies has had an awful year.
Greyduster
I've had my two agapanthus for two yrs and this is the first time they've flowered. I love them.
One plant that never lets you down is the good old Passion flower. Thank goodness as we trail it all over the ugly spitefully holly bush next door. They don't mind

Merlot, my clematis are planted as you recommend. I’ll google images of clematis wilt

Clematis need their roots cool and moist and their heads in the sun so try protecting the base with a slate or similar. I thought I'd lost one in last year's heat wave but it came back this year with lots of healthy new shoots.

I have fuschias in a hanging basket which are struggling despite being in compost with water retaining granules, and regular watering. The fuschias in pots and in the trough at the front of the house are flourishing and the blooms are twice the size as the same variety in the hanging basket. I am focussing my attention at the moment on a large pot of agapanthus which are just coming into flower. We have more blooms this year than previously and we are going on holiday in a couple of weeks. Not sure if our new young neighbours are into looking after other people’s plants if the weather is dry. I shall have to put out feelers!

I had the same problem with a clematis. It looked totally dead but I watered the “corpse” daily and it now has a healthy shoot! Hurrah!

What about clematis folks? Two existing clematis and two new ones all have patches of dried out crumpled leaves. I can't work out if its the weather, or clematis wilt. They have been watered daily - any ideas please?

is that an overgrown cordyline I spy in the picture? We had one that grew into a tree until the frost and snow got it one year.

Actually, when I think about it, we have a rather nice white and purple one in the 'hedge' which looks a bit sad this year but the red ones are thriving.

jalima
Pass can't remember. The funny ( well not so funny) is that these red ones are doing fine. All treated the same.

Are yours hardy bedding fuschias petra?
If so, they could grow tall and lankier than the ones intended for pots.

We have both kinds and some of the ones in pots look more like shysal's whereas the ones in a hedge look similar to yours and they grow quite tall.

I water every night when sun goes down and 3very morning before it comes up I don’t have a hose so it’s lots of buckets and watering cans bu5 they re all still alive and doing well and none lost not even the hanging pots

nanak54 I am told tena lady work's just as well

I forgot to add that I always use saucers under my pots to catch any excess which drains through, helps to make full use of the water.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201807/medium-105419-fuschia.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201807/medium-860353-fuschia2.png

I have 75 pots in my garden to keep watered! I am saving bath and washing up water for the purpose. I was only thinking the other day that my fuschias have been better than usual this year. They were bought as cheap small ones in trays of 6 at Homebase.
I have to agree that yours do look a bit sorry for themselves, what a pity. The group of pots is pretty nevertheless. I like a profusion.

Thanks for enlightening me Oldmeg.........I have seen the wagons in the mornings very occasionally, but with all the cut backs elsewhere I honestly expected our town`s florals to suffer............I will be wary of getting drenched by standing too near though!!!

Your fuschias look like mine petra - this year they have far more flowers than leaves.
Some are newly planted in the garden and do need watering as they droop fairly quickly. The more established ones are fine. The ones in the pots don't seem to have grown much larger, but are flowering profusely.

I recall Alan Titchmarsh saying that if you tip an inch of water into a pot it will only sink down nine inches. Either sink the pot in water or top water again once the first drink had been absorbed to have any chance of it getting down to the roots.

Petra they look fine from the pic on here, but obviously aren’t.
My hanging baskets and pots are doing very well, but we do water them every evening.
The fuschia haven’t flowered, that’s the only thing, as yet, so I may have later flowering ones or just duds.
The pelagoniums are the best they have ever been, althought I have used Miracle Gro liquid feed,which makes a big difference.

Cherrytree love the tip about using nappies, thank you

www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/water-plants-vegetable-garden.htm
Your DD's grumpy old gardener doesn't know everything, merlot

I think I will have to give them the usual speech: you either shape up or ship out.
Stand right over them when you tell them.
All that carbon dioxide might do them some good


I've never heard that merlotgran - and DH always says it's better to water in the morning (or both if needs be)
Grumpy old gardener - does DH fit that description - sometimes, yes

Our hanging baskets are looking like they normally do at the end of August so feeding regularly to try and give them some oomph. I've also had to move a large fuchsia into the shade.

Talking of watering, DD and I always chuckle when we remember a grumpy old gardener we knew criticising her for watering her pots in the morning despite the fact she had a full time job to dash off to. He would chant, 'Water by night - penetration. Water by morn - evaporation.'

She snapped back at him, 'No bloody water - dehydration!'