How to protect your plants from extreme heat

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The summer heat is hotter than ever, and outside sales representative Reggie Morlen at Star Nursery said even your heartiest desert plants may not have time to adjust to the heat.

“So, naturally they’ll get scorched if you’re doing proper care because they have to sit out there and endure the temperature,” Morlen explained.

Morlen said this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to water more often but instead focus on routine maintenance as overwatering can drown your plants.

“So, when we water our plants ideally we want a lot of water at one time less often,” Morlen added.

He said to keep an eye on potted plants in plastic containers which may also overheat the plant’s roots.

“I tend to tell people to handwater all their pot, not to put it on irrigation. You can do that but pots tend to dry out differently than on the ground whether you use more or less,” Morlen said.

Star Nursery has also seen an influx of calls from the community asking about their plants and garden and Star Nursery also offers house calls bringing a plant doctor to your home.

Frequent questions Morlen has from customers is how to cover their plants.

“So, we best recommend is getting shade cloth which we have inside which is 50% percent coverage, 75% and 95% and that’s how much it cuts out of the sun with a couple stakes,” Morlen said.

He said a sun shade also works best if you have your plant in the wrong place and can’t move it.

“Really how we want to cover the plants is building more of a roof over them, rather than actually draping it,” Morlen remarked.

While produce varies out in the heat, Morlen said the main issue will be direct sunlight so bring vegetables inside or into the shade if you can.

If you have a dying tree, Morlen added that the right amount of fertilizer, water, and mulch may help bring it back to life.

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