With the summer heat upon us in San Diego it’s important to take extra special care of the plants in your garden. It doesn’t really matter as much along our coast in towns such as Point Loma, Pacific Beach or La Jolla as much as it does for areas like North Park, Del Cerro and the such as they lack the buffer provided by the Pacific Ocean and the marine layer.  

With your California Natives make sure to limit or completely avoid providing any extra water unless the heat is intense and prolonged as they are built for our summer dry hot conditions. For ornamental plants be sure to be on the look out for summer drought stress and be ready to provide addition irrigation as needed. During times of stress other issues can arise as well so don’t forget to be on the look out for fungal or insect pressures. 

For lawns it really depends on what kind of lawn you are growing, warm season turf is in the middle of its more prolific growing season so stay on top of proper mowing and fertilizer as required by your grass type. Cool season grasses now is a very stressful time of year for them, so mow less frequently, limit to completely stop your fertilizer program and increase your water schedule as needed. 

As always try to use organic treatments for your garden and if possible install plants that are adapted to our climate, as that’s always easier than trying to fight Mother Nature. It’s a little late in the summer but it is always good practice to check your irrigation system regularly to ensure proper coverage with minimal waste. 

If you have any questions or are interested in a landscape design for your property please feel free to reach out to Cleator Landscape Design at 619-917-3644.