Local plant experts offer lawn, garden solutions for heat

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Friday marks the 21st day of high temperatures hitting 90 degrees or hotter in the Tri-Cities, but local plant experts say there are plenty of ways to help your plants beat the heat.

University of Tennessee Agriculture Extension Agent Adam Watson told News Channel 11 the key to keeping gardens, like the one he helps manage at Lincoln Park in Jonesborough, healthy is deep watering.

“When we think about tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, those fruit that we pick are really mainly water, and so if that plant doesn’t have water, we don’t have good harvest,” Watson said. “But more than that, plants use water to cool themselves.”

Watson said early morning watering is best, to prevent water from evaporating before plants can absorb it.

At Evergreen of Johnson City, Andrew Valk advocated for an overlooked summer gardening technique: mulching. Though most gardeners lay a layer in the spring for aesthetic reasons, Valk said a two-inch layer of mulch could help save plants in the heat.

“The summer application is the beneficial (one) for plant and water success, water retention, plant rejuvenation, and recovery from summer stress,” Valk said. “Mulching is absolutely key. “

Like vegetable gardens and landscaping, grass lawns are also feeling the impact of the extended heat and low precipitation. UT Extension’s Watson said that for the types of grass that grow in our area, a dried and brown lawn is not necessarily dead.

“In this part of Tennessee, we grow primarily cool, seasonal lawns,” Watson said. “Good thing is, our cooler season grasses can go dormant and they can recover from that. So hopefully as we return to maybe more normal precipitation and temperature patterns, we’ll see those green back up. Worst case scenario, we do have the option to do reseeding in late summer, early fall. “

Come fall gardeners may want to reconsider what kinds of plants they chose. The USDA recently bumped both Johnson City and Kingsport’s plant hardiness zone to 7b, up from 7a.

A half-step jump means winter temperatures are five degrees hotter on average than in the past. Valk says some plants are better suited to make those changes.

“You can kind of skirt around it by planting native species because they too are adapting and have been adapting even before a new map data comes out,” Valk said. “That’s the joy and that’s the benefit and maybe further support of planting natives. “

Valk said some of his favorite native plants include native varieties of goldenrod and hyssop.

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