It will not have escaped your notice: next weekend it will be very hot. That means not only that you have to take care of yourself, but also of your garden. At least you would think so. Gardener Martijn Rekkers gives tips.
According to Martijn, it is best to just relax with this warm weather. “Don’t do too much with your garden. For example, you should not start planting new plants. It could be, but it’s best to just postpone it.”
“It is really better not to prune beech hedges now.”
Normally, now is the time for summer fertilizer for your lawn, but it’s better not to do that this weekend. “If you are going to fertilize now, those granules have to get wet in order to break them up. Now it is too dry and the grains do not break. That ensures that they remain in place and eventually burn your grass.”
It is also better to wait a little while before pruning plants. Although now is the time for that. “Many people are now pruning the beech hedges. You really shouldn’t do that in this heat.”
“I’d say just spray.”
The fact that it is better to wait until after the weekend has everything to do with the strong sun that is coming. “Pruning actually removes the top layer of the plants. If you do that with that warm sun, then that layer below suddenly gets a lot of sun. Those leaves have hardly ever had sun and then burn.” You can think of it a bit like your ‘winter skin’ suddenly exposed to the summer sun.
Of course you don’t have to do anything at all. Spraying is of course very important. But not when the sun shines, right? Martijn thinks otherwise. “It’s a bit of a double. If you look around you, you see a farmer just spraying the meadows and crops. I can’t substantiate it, but I would say: just spray. I have no bad experiences with it.”
“Just put an umbrella or something over your hydrangeas.”
The time is therefore not very important to Martijn. However, he does have something to say about the quantity. “It is much better to spray twice than once for a long time. Do not splash water on it with a large garden hose, but just use a fine drop. Both of these ensure that the water is absorbed better and does not wash away.
Martijn has an extra message for people with a hydrangea. “A hydrangea quickly gets leaf damage from the sun. That looks like burning. You can solve that very simply. Just put an umbrella or something over it, especially in the midday sun.”
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