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meyermike_1micha

You can OVER water in extreme heat....P.S

meyermike_1micha
10 years ago

Yes, be careful out there...

Just to let you know that not only do you have to watch your watering practices out there in winter in mixes that retain water for a long period of time, but also in summer.

When your roots get over heated, they do not take up moisture leaving them to sit in wet soil for days until the temps reach optimum levels..

MIke:-)

Comments (14)

  • HeyJude2012
    10 years ago

    Hi Mike...thank you for that little tidbit. I had no idea that roots would slow down intake with heat. My trees are all in containers so I will have to be especially careful. It's can get so hot here in the summer. I'm sure my trees will be grateful too.

    Sometimes I look at my plants/trees and think of that horrible movie M.Night Shaymalans made about the trees getting their revenge with humans.

  • Andrew Scott
    10 years ago

    Thanks Mike. I would have never thought. This summer hasn't been too summer like except for these few past days. Take care buddy. It was great hearing from you!

    Andrew

  • meyermike_1micha
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Heyjude..Yes, that was quite a movie..lol

    Yes, I was referring to container care by the way. Good point brought up..
    Today, it was so hot, that many of my citrus wilted even though the soil was moist......Many would think their trees need more water by watering again, just keeping their mix wetter even longer encouraging root rot.

    Mike:-)

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    10 years ago

    Howdy, gents!
    Yes, I find that shading the container will help more than throwing water at the plant. I run into this issue with my peppers in black plastic pots especially, but moving them into the shade brings them back to a perk within 15 minutes. Those of us with hot climates and containers that aren't adequately sized, have to keep heat in mind.

    Josh

  • johnmerr
    10 years ago

    It is common for plants.... even citrus, to wilt in the hot afternoon; if they don't recover in the evening, they probably need more water.
    Overwatering in containers can also cause edema; which looks a little like greasy spot; but is caused by the roots taking up more water than the plant can use.
    BTW I now have 13 container citrus on my roof terrace at my house in Guatemala City. 9 are newly planted gift Meyers for clients and lemon buyers; 3 are Cara Cara oranges; and 1 is an older Meyer being reserved for the President of the Republic, or maybe the Minister of Agriculture. I will take photos and post them here soon.

  • meyermike_1micha
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Great points mentioned Josh and John!

    Josh, oh yeah, can peppers wilt on hot days!

    Sometimes I have been guilty of watering mine again even though the mix is already damp, just to quickly cool the roots but I can get away with it because my mixes are very porous. I do encourage the shade method though....

    John, would love to see your set up and potted plants! I'll bet you will have growing them in pots under your belt in no time. You will probably love filling up empty spaces in which there is no ground and moving them to any location you want when ever you like.
    Welcome to the containerized world...:-)

    Mike

  • tamela_star
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the tip! I've been watering mine in the early mornings and evenings after sunset along with my other plants. It's been in the upper 90's and the sun dries out my containers so fast. I'll skip watering the lemon tomorrow. Thanks. How often should I water it now that we haven't gotten a thunderstorm in a few days?

  • mn_citrus
    10 years ago

    What range do you consider "extreme heat"? 90s? 100s?

  • meyermike_1micha
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    First off..Hello Andrew and you are welcome...

    Mn_citrus..I would have to guess it may be all relative depending on many factors?

    I hope I am alright to assume that many here kind of know what is too hot for their plants and how they are affected. If not, then they need to be more in tune with their plants, the containers they choose to use, and most of all the mix they grow in.
    Also how their containers can heat root sysytems compared to more stable temps for trees in the ground.
    How often to water, how fast their mixes dry out and what color the pots are used are all important factors to vital root health.

    For some, just the temps alone into the 90's can over heat roots such as mine, and then to have pots in full sun at those temps in black containers can bake roots like mine.

    Root rot usually occursin the winter for some.
    But root rot in the summer is invariably blamed on poor drainage and overwatering too. I wonder how much root death from overheating may also contribute to the summer root-rot phenomenon. (It's almost ironic that it's recommended to place Bonsai affected by root-rot in the shade after treatment - part of the cure?) Even some of the winter occurrences of root-rot may have had their origin in summer heat killed or damaged roots. (Now, there's some interesting studies to be performed).

    And finally,

    I think it's fair to say that high summer temperatures and placing certain plants in full sun throughout the growing season probably have some negative effect on a plants roots. Precautions such as midday shading and watering to cool down the containers might be in the best interest of plants, especially many of my Bonsai and Citrus.
    (I may even rethink the layout of my growing area and move some trees to more shade in the deep summer).

    Tamela..No problem...:-) I would water my plants if they were drying out that fast...For those plants that sit in damp mixes even after hot weather for days, I would be very careful is what I am saying...

    Mike

  • mn_citrus
    10 years ago

    Sorry for my ignorance. I've been growing citrus for about a month now. Its been getting into the 80s and 90s here.

    I have my trees in white plastic containers that are in full sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. That's the right way to do it, right?

  • meyermike_1micha
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Are you serious? You have nothing to be sorry about:-)

    If you are just getting started, then you will learn lots' around here, especially on how to read your trees needs.

    Being in tune with our trees comes through experience while we learn many basics.....There is no one size fits all, although some basics apply to all of our trees.
    It is good to know that temperatures to high for potted plants can have a detrental affect on them.

    I think white is perfect for trees and in fact I am rethinking the color of my black potted ones. But what prevents me from changing them out is all the work involved for just a few short weeks of this problem, try about 3 short weeks of hot sun.

    Your trees will be very happy in what you have provided them. I find that the more sun they get, the more fruit and flowers....The less sun, the bigger and darker green the leaves get.

    All of mine do very well with just about 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight and the rest of the time just light..

    Would love to see some pics of yours..

    Mike:-)

    This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Sun, Jul 7, 13 at 15:56

  • mn_citrus
    10 years ago

    I have some pics in a post in the forum about whether my trees have sunburn or something else. I'd love to get some feedback.

  • poncirusguy6b452xx
    10 years ago

    Thanks Mike; Its information like this that helps me avoid problems in the future.

    Steve

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    10 years ago

    When temps near or pass 95F, most plants shut down.
    We're coming off a stretch of seven days with temps over 100F. Now we're down to the mid-90F's...which feels a lot better ;-)

    Josh

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