I've noticed that this summer has been tough on some of my plants and shrubs. I've been watering my Acers, hydrangeas, and clematis every evening, yet they seem to struggle. Unfortunately, a lovely Rowan tree in my front garden appears to have fire blight, and I'm afraid it won't survive. On the brighter side, some plants seem to be thriving even with minimal watering, like Perovskia, Eringyium, Lavatera, and various herbs and flowers. I'm looking for recommendations on robust 'survivor' plants that can handle tough summer conditions.
3 Answers
I’ve found that native UK plants, when densely planted, can survive without any watering. My wildlife garden is thriving even without extra care, thanks to some natural shelter and not being in full sun all day.
In my side garden, I hardly water at all now that the plants are established. The first couple of years I gave them good watering, but now they're thriving on their own. I’ve got Russian Sage, Lavatera, and a few other drought-tolerant plants in there that handle the summer heat really well without any extra water.
Hostas and day lilies are super tough and pretty indestructible in my experience! They usually withstand harsh conditions pretty well.
I wish that were true for me! My day lilies never flowered, and my hostas ended up being a feast for snails.