Gardening experts warn of four common mistakes during summer heat waves

Gardening specialist Ryan Dowsell cautions that high summer temperatures can stress plants if common care errors are made. He highlights four frequent mistakes: leaving potted plants in direct sun all day, pruning during a heat wave, insufficient or irregular watering of newly planted specimens, and neglecting post‑heat recovery such as re‑wetting dried substrate.

Additional advice from other gardeners points to five typical errors: directing water onto foliage instead of the root zone, shallow frequent watering that keeps roots near the surface, watering during the hottest part of the day, over‑watering that leads to root rot, and applying mulch too thickly, which can suffocate roots and trap moisture.

Avoiding these practices helps plants tolerate extreme heat and maintain healthy growth throughout the summer.