Prepare Your Garden for a Hot, Dry Summer
Get ahead before the heat sets in. Long, dry summers can be tough on plants, and nothing’s worse than coming home from holiday to find your veggie garden struggling.
Follow our simple 6-Step Proactive Plan to prepare and keep your garden healthy, hydrated, and thriving right through the hottest months.
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Step 1. Good Growing Media
- Check that your mix includes a wetting agent so it can re-wet easily in dry conditions. This helps prevent dry pockets and lets water move evenly through the soil or potting mix.
- Choose mixes with good water-retention properties, such as our Daltons Premium Garden Mix or Premium Potting Mix, with fibrous ingredients like our Bark Fibre and Pinegro Engineered Wood Fibre. These help hold moisture while still providing excellent drainage and airflow for healthy roots.
- For an extra boost, add Garden Time Water Storage Crystals. They absorb up to 500 times their weight in water and release up to 95% of it back into the soil as plants need it. A simple way to keep pots, containers, and garden beds better hydrated.
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Step 2. Compost
- Adding Daltons Garden Time Compost boosts the soil’s nutrient levels and improves its structure, helping with both aeration (allowing air to move through the soil so roots can breathe) and water retention.
- In the veggie or flower garden dig in compost to a depth of 10-12 cm, mixing it well with existing soil prior to planting.
- For established trees, shrubs and roses etc, simply spread a layer of compost around the base of the plants - but not touching the stem.
- Don't use compost in pots, instead use a good quality potting mix like Daltons Premium Potting Mix. Compost tends to be denser and less structured than potting mixes, so in a pot it may lead to issues with drainage, compaction, and root suffocation.
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Step 3. Watering
- It’s best to water plants in longer, but less frequent sessions. Try watering every 3-5 days, ideally early in the morning or in the evening, avoiding the hottest part of the day.
- Soaker hoses are best for watering plants, as they apply water directly to the root zone, avoiding water wastage. Set a timer if using sprinklers.
- Water deeply for plants like roses to promote deep root growth. Stop when water puddles as the soil has reached its water-holding capacity.
- Potted plants dry faster, so water consistently until the saucer shows water. Ensure containers have adequate drainage holes, adding more if necessary.
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Step 4. Mulching
- Regular mulching is absolutely imperative to help keep your garden lush and healthy during summer. Think of it as a protective blanket.
- Applying a mulch layer, about 50-100mm deep, around plants, trees, and especially in your pots will encourage water retention and keep the media cool during summer, reducing irrigation.
- Mulching also suppresses weed growth to reduce competition, and protects plant roots.
- Using Daltons Premium Mulch & Feed around the root zone of your plants will improve moisture retention.
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Step 5. Seaweed
- Just like us, plants can get stressed in the heat. The amino acids and bioactive compounds naturally found in seaweed enhance a plant’s ability to cope with drought and recover faster after stress.
- Regular applications of seaweed before dry conditions set in can help strengthen plants and improve their resilience to heat stress.
- Easy to use in your watering can or as a foliar (leaf) spray, Daltons Garden Time Seafeed Plus NPK supports this natural defence, improving drought resistance while delivering essential nutrients for strong, healthy growth.
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Step 6. Choosing & Positioning Plants
- It’s best to choose drought-tolerant plants that suit your local environment, such as hardy New Zealand natives, succulents, African daisies, lavender, and palms. Learn more about Drought Resistant Plant Selection.
- For more efficient watering, group plants with similar water needs together so each receives the right amount of moisture without waste.
- By watering according to plant type rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, you’ll promote healthier, stronger growth while conserving precious water.
Recommended Products
Additional Resources
Water Conservation Tips
The Smart Water NZ website provides water conservation tips, including guidance on plant selection, planting times, watering techniques, supplementary water sources, mulching, composting, and maintenance strategies.
Summer Garden Tips
Summer blooms, vegetables, strawberries, fruit trees, roses, herbs, and lawns all require specific care to thrive amidst summer conditions.
How to Grow Summer Vegetables
Explore our vegetable garden tips for regional planting, selecting the ideal varieties, feeding, watering, maintenance, and managing pests and diseases.
