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.

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.