The scorching heat over the past week must have been extremely enervating. The same for plants.
Plants getting wilted under the scorching hot weather is now commonplace in the United States. As such, Seattle plant expert Ciscoe Morris shared some tips for reviving the plants with Seattle's KUOW news.
Knowing that many Americans have been having a strong urge to prune off the sun damaged leaves, the plant expert is now recommending people not do that, because the damaged leaves will act as protectors to help the plant ward off sun damage, should another heat wave hit. "Because if we get another big heat thing like that, those will shade the inner leaves and protect them."
Acknowledging that plants will need time to recover, Morris told KUOW news that there's a way to know if damages to the plant are irreversible: Try scraping off a little bit of the bark (the outer covering of a plant). If it's green or white, it is not damaged at all. But if it's brown all the way down to the bottom, it might be time to visit the nursery and purchase a new plant.
If you already know the result of the aforementioned test, no matter your plants are damaged or not, you should start protecting your plants right away. Morris suggested that mulching the plants with wood chips would undoubtedly keep water near the plant, so as to prevent heat or sun damage. An inch of mulch, according to Morris, could make a 15-degree difference in temperature on the soil surface. Able to keep water near the plants, the mulch (wood chips) will also help water your plants deeply and early in the morning.
In reality, the plant expert said, it was not the heat per se that hurts plant, but the intense sunlight, literally the culprit of the scorching hot weather.
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