The people of Perth continue to struggle through a Summer heatwave, but let's spare a thought for our poor plants! Perth gardens often have large areas of thermal mass with paved areas, Colorbond fences and brick walls which can make your garden microclimate extremely hot in Summer.

Sunsmart garden designs can replace pavers with woody mulch and aim to increase canopy cover to cool the temperature in your patch. Close planting will also help to support plants through hotter weather.

Here's our top tips to help you nurse your garden through the latest heatwave:

WATER

Deep watering early in the morning is best for plant health. This will allow time for the moisture to reach the roots before it evaporates. Try to get water as close to the root zone as possible with a watering wand or dripper irrigation. Olla pots are an awesome way to water plants steadily through Summer.

SHADE

Soil in containers and above ground garden beds will heat up more quickly than soil in the ground. To mitigate the impact of sun on containers, wrap them with hessianor place them in an area where there is ground cover plants rather than directly onto concrete. If your plants are in containers, move them undercover or to a shady area of your garden. Otherwise, try and rig up some temporary shade using shade cloth or even umbrellas to keep the direct sun off your plants during the hottest part of the day. Our insect protection nets and fruit protection sleeves offer 20% shade factor which is a great way to protect plants from the heat of the summer sun.

PROTECT THE SOIL 

Ensure you have a good layer of mulch or ground cover over your entire garden. This will protect the soil from being exposed to direct sun and reduce the amount of water loss through evaporation. Covering soil also promotes good soil health and ensures optimal soil microbiology is maintained.

BUILD HEALTHY SOIL 

Building healthy soil is the foundation of a thriving garden. Careful composting and the addition of fibre and leaf matter to the soil will help to build healthy, living soil.  Sandy soils like most of us have in Perth are prone to becoming hydrophobic and unhealthy.  Consistently mulching, composting and adding organic matter to your soil is critical to build healthy soil biology.

SAVE SEEDS

If you notice a certain plant seems to survive better than others in hot weather, make sure you save the seeds at the end of the season. That way you can futureproof your garden by growing strong plants that you know will grow well in your exact climate.

USE SUNSCREEN

We apply sunscreen to ourselves when the heat is high, but what about our plants?

Kaolin Clay acts as an amazing natural sunscreen for plants, and can also help repel garden pests - even Citrus Gall Wasp!

When sprayed on leaves and branches, Kaolin Clay protects and prevents heat stress, pest attack and sun damage on young trees and vegetable crops. Studies have also shown kaolin spray to be effective in reducing citrus gall wasp numbers, and other pests.  The spray works by clogging up the mouthparts of the pests which makes it difficult for the adults to pierce bark for egg laying (in the case of citrus gall wasp), and disrupts the laying of eggs. 

When used as a 'sunscreen' on plants (such as tomatoes, capsicum, avocado, grapes, mango, stonefruit, cucumber, melons) it reflects damaging UV rays but allows light to enter the leaves (so does not stop photosynthesis or block stomata - the 'breathing' openings) 

How to Use Clay Spray

Mix natural kaolin clay powder with water (it quickly forms a suspended slurry) and use in a spray bottle to apply a film over the leaves and branches of your plants, until just at drip point (when the spray has fully covered the surface, and begins to drip or run off).  

A little goes a long way. Mix 50gms clay to 160mL and form a slurry, then top up to 1L of water. Avoid using when rain is imminent, as the spray needs time to dry.

Top tip: Don't forget to rinse spray equipment immediately to avoid clogging 

The white residue on your plants will weather off and will need repeat treatment every 2-3 weeks (check visually when spray has noticeably gone).  Repeat at 50% strength approximately fortnightly for best results.

We'd love to know how you are helping your garden through a heatwave - leave your tips in the comments or tag us on social media.