Gardening expert gives tips on plant care during hot, dry weather

BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - The hot, dry weather in mid-Michigan is showing no signs of letting up, meaning lawns and gardens could be in for a rough time this week.

A local gardening expert gave some tips on what homeowners need to do to keep their yard from shriveling up.

“The biggest thing is remember that lawns and your landscapes or your garden plants are different. You don’t treat them the same way,” said Jim Begick, the president of Begick Nursery and Garden Center in Bay City.

Begick said now is a critical time to make sure lawns and gardens are getting the right amount of water.

“The hardest thing to teach somebody is how to water properly because they either do too much, or they do too little. They never find the in-between,” Begick said. “Now going out with a garden hose and getting the top of the ground wet, that’s not going to work.”

He said water has to get down to the roots.

“Lawns usually need about an inch and a half of water a week, and you can space that out over the course of every other day. Better to water deeply and well and let it dry out a little bit. And the same goes for your plants as well,” he said.

Begick added the time plants are watered is also important.

“Just make sure that you do it in the early morning because then the plants will have the water that they need over the course of the day. And try and avoid watering overnight if you can because that invites some funguses to roll in,” he explained.

Begick said if you see leaves wilting down a little bit, that’s an indicator of a plant needing water.

He was quick to point out that this weather shouldn’t deter you from adding plants to your yard.

“You can go ahead and plant. You know especially if you do it early in the morning or early in the evening. Most of the plants that we have for sale here are in containers, or they’re balled and burlap, and they’re ready to plant. So, there is no such thing as Memorial Day being too late to plant,” he said. “We’re just getting started.”

Begick said the best type of plant to handle these conditions is succulents.

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