‘Hugely detrimental’ summer gardening mistake that will kill your plants

During the summer months, gardens require extra care and attention to stop plants from dying due to the high temperatures.

Gardeners may find that during the summer months, they will tend to either under or overwater their plants, but William Mitchell of Sutton Manor Nursery urged against this.

He claimed that when gardeners overwater their plants it stops air from getting to the roots – this is essential for plants to survive.

The gardening expert said: “As the weather starts to become much hotter you must keep on top of watering your plants. 

“However, you must not overwater them, as it can be hugely detrimental to them.

“While the roots of your plant need water, they also need air to breathe. Overwatering will drown your plants and will stop air from getting to the roots. 

“Soil that is overly wet will not have enough air pockets to allow the roots to breathe.” If the plant is not able to breathe it will start to die.

Plants can only effectively use water through their roots, taking water from the surrounding soil or compost.

So water needs to get to where it’s needed, at the tip of the roots and not the leaves.

William added that it is also important to remember that “the best time to water your plants” is either in the morning or in the late evening as it is best to water plants when they are not in the full sun.

Aside from what time of day plants should be watered, gardeners should also be aware of how often they should be watering their gardens.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), watering more thoroughly, but less frequently helps get the water down to the deeper root tips. 

They said: “It is better to water the garden before drought really sets in, to keep the soil moisture levels even and avoid the soil being continuously dry. 

“But, equally important, the soil doesn’t have to be really wet all the time because plants’ roots need air as well as water to grow well. 

“Consider the way we drink a glass of water, it doesn’t have to be full all the time, but we might prefer it was topped up halfway rather than it becoming completely empty.”

During hot weather, the RHS recommends making a single thorough watering to the plants that are suffering.

The experts agreed with William that gardeners should try to water in the cool of the evening or the very early morning so that less water is lost immediately to evaporation.