I live in a rather xeric sandhills environment with blazing sun and this year has had more drought than typical, so indeed a good number of my less well adapted or more poorly positioned plants have been crisping up. Even so, summer is a season of fruiting and growth for many. Ex. partridge pea barely germinates at the end of spring. It was July-early August for it to blossom gloriously, mid-August for the cloudless sulphur caterpillars to appear en masses to devour those blooms and leaves, and at present the caterpillars are undergoing metamorphosis while the partridge pea bereft of blooms now pushes out the eponymous pea pods. Beautyberries have only just now turned their delightful purple color, the black-eyed susans grew in the spring but did not flower until the summer. I can’t take a step anywhere without the grasshoppers fleeing and despite the dry conditions there are tree frogs taking shelter in the shadows of my house’s siding and toads singing, anoles basking in the force of the sun.
Interestingly one of the plants that looks happier is rhubarb. At least the one I planted a few months ago is. I think its size and deep roots help it store more water and get it from deeper soil. So it manages pretty well with watering once a week.
Tree kale also seems to be OK with the lack of water. But it has been eaten by wildlife instead. I had given up on it but after seeing some of them still alive despite not being watered in over a month and the leaves all being eaten way constantly, I decided to try and see if it can be helped. Got netting for it recently and it does look like it is starting to recover and grow some leaves. Probably give it a bit longer and if it does well I might make a more sturdy frame for the netting with a few canes.
Egyptian walking onions might be able to manage but I only got them recently so they haven’t really been tested in my area. Pretty sure they would be fine for a week though. Prefer to have things I don’t need to water in the week as well as on the weekend.
I live in a rather xeric sandhills environment with blazing sun and this year has had more drought than typical, so indeed a good number of my less well adapted or more poorly positioned plants have been crisping up. Even so, summer is a season of fruiting and growth for many. Ex. partridge pea barely germinates at the end of spring. It was July-early August for it to blossom gloriously, mid-August for the cloudless sulphur caterpillars to appear en masses to devour those blooms and leaves, and at present the caterpillars are undergoing metamorphosis while the partridge pea bereft of blooms now pushes out the eponymous pea pods. Beautyberries have only just now turned their delightful purple color, the black-eyed susans grew in the spring but did not flower until the summer. I can’t take a step anywhere without the grasshoppers fleeing and despite the dry conditions there are tree frogs taking shelter in the shadows of my house’s siding and toads singing, anoles basking in the force of the sun.
Interestingly one of the plants that looks happier is rhubarb. At least the one I planted a few months ago is. I think its size and deep roots help it store more water and get it from deeper soil. So it manages pretty well with watering once a week.
Tree kale also seems to be OK with the lack of water. But it has been eaten by wildlife instead. I had given up on it but after seeing some of them still alive despite not being watered in over a month and the leaves all being eaten way constantly, I decided to try and see if it can be helped. Got netting for it recently and it does look like it is starting to recover and grow some leaves. Probably give it a bit longer and if it does well I might make a more sturdy frame for the netting with a few canes.
Egyptian walking onions might be able to manage but I only got them recently so they haven’t really been tested in my area. Pretty sure they would be fine for a week though. Prefer to have things I don’t need to water in the week as well as on the weekend.