Protecting Container Plants from Summer Heat

Protecting container plants in extreme summer heat is a challenge many gardeners face. Note that the plants in soil bed do not feel that much heat as compared to the ones in containers. In my case, i have got majority of my container plants on my terrace, the floor heats up in summers and the roots of plants at bottom of container are stressed. I had to water every second day to protect them. Last year i lost some of my plants because of that. Here is what i am doing this summer and this is going good so far.

Mulch: The best mulch components are leaf mold, coco peat and some organic matter or humus. You can also include, shredded newspapers and card boards. Remember, leaf mold cools the soil more than anything else. See the following arabian jasmine, though in soil bed, i have mulched it with leaf mold and coco peat around 2 inches depth.

This is how it will look closely. Don't forget to keep the mulch away from the main stem. Mulch will protect the plant from outside heat but not the bottom heat which is coming from the floor and stressing the roots.

Humidity: If your containers are at your terrace, the bottom heat will stress the roots of the plants. To handle this, place your container in a tray of pebbles soaked in water. But don't forget, your pot should not be standing in water, just the pebbles should be soaked and not the lower portion of your container. It is also useful for those plants which like humidity e.g. Arabian Jasmine etc.

Type of container: If you see below, this is my murraya exotica plant in an 18 inches clay pots. If you use terracotta pots, the terracotta color will protect the plants from heat however plastic pots heat up in direct sun. I like clay pots and they provide better protection from heat as well. The mulch of leaf mold and coco peat is 2 inches deep.
And last but not least container gardeners should try to plant drought tolerant plants as much as possible. The plants which are native to south africa, brazil, australia and mexico are very suitable to our sub tropical hot climate. The temperature outside temperature on my terrace right now is 110F which is quite challenging. But the mulch and pebbles tray are doing a great job till now.

Tropical milkweed and murraya on my terrace garden

Here i am again with another edition of macro monday. Hot summers are in full swing and i am busy mulching all my plants to save them from scorching sun. I will start with this beautiful butterfly hanging over my murraya plant on my balcony.And she is a frequent visitor here.
Another butterfly i captured but not at my terrace, in an open space instead. She is way faster to capture and i spent hours to get her.
This is Tropical milkweed. Botanical name Asclepias curassavica. This is first ever bloom of this plant in my garden. Initially i planted it just fro sake of attracting butterflies but the blooms changed my mind. I grew it from seeds last year. As the name implies it is more suited to tropics than its cousin butterfly milkweed asclepias tuberosa. It likes moist climate specially in hot summers. It is a bit drought tolerant as well. I am growing it in a 14 inches container on my terrace.
I captured this bee busy in a sunflower bloom. This species has gone wild in open areas of punjab. Not many bees are attracted but bees just love it. Could not resist few close ups.
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Annual Spring Flower Show Lahore - Part 2

This is the second and last part of annual spring flower show coverage. The star of the show were my all time favorite plant aquilegia or Granny's Bonnet and another name is columbine.

The blue one above is the prettiest of the lot. Although this red one is very pretty. Sadly they are cool climate plants and do not tolerate the summer heat of lahore. I am yet to find a species of aquilegia suitable for lahore as perennial.There are many hybird varieties of columbine and some are fragrant as well. Probably the other flower which dominated the show was godetia. Botanical name Clarkia amoena,  they almost beat the aquilegia with masses of their beautiful display. They are very tolerant of poor soil although they dislike poor drainage. Isn't it sad that these flower, though grow very good in lahore, are ignored by many nurseries and seeds shops. would surely get my hands on these beautiful plants soon. Keep your eyes on my blog and you will see this plant in my terrace this winter.

Now this was a surprise. A flamingo flower. Another plant very tolerant of lahore weather but ignored by commercial growers. Botanically called Anthurium andraeanum, the common color is this one the red. Although other colors exist for this beautiful flower as well. As expected, it was sold at unreasonable high price.
Amaryllis was also displayed as being forced inside a small plastic pot. It was also high prices although it is very easy to make it bloom in spring in hot climates like ours. you can force it in water and in soil as well. Blooms readily. Many colors available. The local bulbs have rather small flower as compared to those imported ones. although local ones perform better in beds as heat tolerant.
Can you believe that this year in lahore, no seed shop tried to get bulbs of Ornithogalum? i mean such a pretty flower and in many colors and very tolerant of lahore weather and no single bulb present at seeds shops? unbelievable. Now this was probably last years plants or the bulbs were not commercially available. Very pretty flowers and look gorgeous in masses.And yes they are also called chincherinchee.
This was some unknown plant having strange looking flowers. Being sold at sky high price. About 5 feet tall.
Coco bricks were also sold. These bricks are soaked in water and then used. Coco peat is mostly used as mulch or soil amendment. Also used as seed cover for germinating the seed. I use lots of them as summer mulch as they retain moisture to a great extent.
Indian dahias were also exhibited. The indian ones are grown from large thich tubers. And another cheaper alternate is to buy the cuttings of these plants which exhibit same result or even better. The pakistani dahlis is grown mostly from seeds and have single or semi double flower. The local ones have more heat tolerance once again.
Last but not least, gypsophila. Once again a plant being ignored. People probably do not give it much attention because of its small flowers although it has very delicate pretty flowers.

Clearwing humming bird in Lawrence gardens

Here i am again with another edition of macro monday. Because of my coverage with annual spring flower show (see below post) i could not take much macros but still those i got were worth posting.

This one was shot at lawrence garden lahore. I am not sure what it is but it seems to be a hummingbird moth. Though we do not have hummingbirds here but sunbirds. Lovely sight though.
update: This is some species of clearwing hummingbird moth.

 Stock is the most fragrant annual of spring. And bees love them too. This one shot at my terrace.

This bee seems to be too involved in california poppy. Again captured on my terrace.

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Annual Spring Flower Show Lahore - Part 1

This year's annual spring flower show was held at bara dari in lawrence garden aka jinnah bagh lahore. It was 152nd annual flower show and lasted for about a week. The special feature of the show was that it was collaborated with iran's culture centre, they are also celebrating their spring these days. There was a special corner for iran's flowers and their floriculture. I must say they had one of the beautiful flowers i have ever seen which i will share in next part. So here goes the flower show:
This was joint flag of pakistan and iran.
Helichrysum also known as paper flowers planted in groups. Very pretty indeed.
Geraniums, and these seemed to be geraniums not pelargoniums.
These are the cranesbill geraniums.
Another beautiful plant whose name i am forgetting right now but but very pretty in masses.
There were many stalls and few were selling bonsai at very high cost. Although personally i do not like bonsai but people seemed to be interested in them.
succellents were also displayed and people bought them with interest.
There were many mass plantings of petunia but this one just caught my eye.
This iris was about 3 feet high probably raised from bulb.
Statice are becoming popular at cut flower shops as well due to their lasting capabilities.
Many types of roses were displayed. This one is miniture rose.
This is hybird tea rose.
The floribunda rose.
Another mass planting of these beautiful yellow flowers i was unable to identify at first glance.
Many types of gladiolus were also displayed including imported ones and local ones. This one was gem of all.
Although digitalis foxglove do not grow very well here in plains, the sellers do manage to get them bloom and sell at high prices. This one was one example. I discourage buying high altitude plants in plains, ahhm okay i admit aquilegia is an exception.

What do you think a spring annual show can be complete without mums? here they go. By the way here is exclusive coverage of chrysanthemum flower show few months back.

Sparaxis, Freesia, gazania in my garden

It is a pleasure to be part of another Booming friday hosted by Katarina at roses and stuff. There are lots of blooms in my garden, Spring at the peak. First comes this beautiful freesia. I planted lots of freesias this year as they are sure to bloom in our weather and adapt very well to our hot climate. I have never seen such lovely color before. And do i need to tell you the fragrance is just outstanding.

I also planted sparaxis bulbs but not all of them showed the blooms. This one did send up some awesome blossoms. A treat to watch if you have planted them in masses. Another warm climate bulb from south africa. so here goes the Harlequin Flower.

Here comes another heat tolerant dazzling bloomer, gazania. Even in this 90F temperature, they will endure drought. What a tough plant it is. And what a splash of colors they provide.

Pink ranunculus blooming in clay container. I grew them from the corms/tubers.

Dianthus and shirley poppy flowers

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blue petunia,oriental lily and tricolor daisy in my garden

Katarina at Roses and stuff hosts blooming friday every week, i am glad to be a part of it. Right now the spring is at peak in lahore and we are all waiting impatiently for the annual spring flower show although i did held in karachi but not in lahore yet. here goes some pictures from my garden and some from others i captured.

This is my first bee of spring i got in my terrace. She drank from almost every single flower blooming on my terrace including this iceland poppy.

This oriental lily i grew from bulb in winter and what a pretty flower it is. The fragrance fills my whole terrace. you can see my post on how did i grow it here

I love these pink petunias,  grew lots of them in pots. They are not as heat tolerant as gazanias or california poppies but beat them by the color range.

Can you believe that i am growing this tricolor chrysanthemum, painted daisy in raised beds? well i have very limited space and even there is a patch with no soil beneath, i make it a raised bed. .This one is only 1 feet deep and then it is all concrete. I hope they will survive our harsh summer heat. I have mulched them with leaf mold.

I love freesia for their toughness, ability to bloom in diverse conditions and of course the enchanting fragrance. of course i will do a separate post on them but here goes the one in my soil bed the yellow fragrant ones.

I love iceland poppies, they are have the most delicate flowers after aquilegia. this is one is neither orange nor pink nor white but some yellowish touch. a touch of elegance. growing in another raised bed too. It is just 6 inches soil above the cement slabs.

What about these blue petunias? they are happily blooming in the lawn of my office building the aiwan-e-iqbal complex. what a splendid view it is.