Pennsylvania summers can bring weeks of high temperatures, strong sunlight, and limited rainfall. While these conditions can make spending time outdoors uncomfortable, they can also put significant stress on your lawn, trees, shrubs, and garden beds.
Choosing the right plants and following proper watering and maintenance practices can help your landscape stay healthy—even during extended heat waves. At Cider Mill Landscapes, we design landscapes with long-term performance in mind, selecting plants that are well-suited to your property’s unique conditions and the local climate.
Signs Your Plants Are Suffering from Heat Stress
Even established plants can struggle when temperatures remain in the 90s for days at a time. Watch for these common signs of heat stress:
Wilting or drooping foliage
Curled, crispy, or brown leaves
Yellowing leaves
Premature fall color
Early leaf drop
Slow growth or weakened root systems
If these symptoms appear, your plants may need deeper watering, additional mulch, or protection from prolonged heat.
Choosing Heat-Tolerant Plants for Your Landscape
Cider Mill Landscapes takes your specific landscape requirements into consideration when putting together a landscape design. We realize each landscape is just as unique as the client. Property that has a dense amount of trees and naturalized areas may stay cooler and moister than those with direct sun.
Even the dynamics of your property such as the slope or any low-lying areas can play a factor in how much attention it needs. In cases where the landscape is subject to direct sunlight for a longer period of time, we often suggest using landscape material that is drought-tolerant and heat-friendly. These include:
Trees
Maple
Fir
Dogwood
Alder
Ginkgo
Hackberry
Shrubs
Virburnum
Spirea
Lilac
Japanese Holly
Weigela
St. Johnswort
Flowering Quince
Perennials and low-growing specimens
Yarrow
Lavender
Salvia
Phlox
Sedum
Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina)
Even in yards that have irrigation systems, it may be necessary to enforce extra irrigation periods. Excessive heat and humidity can cause damage to your lawn and landscape without implementing proper watering techniques and care. Here is a list of tips from Cider Mill Landscapes:
Take these steps to ensure the health of your landscape:
1. Water your plants early in the morning
Mornings are cool, and water will not evaporate as readily as it does in the heat of the afternoon. Evenings are cool, too, but water sitting on leaves overnight can lead to fungal diseases.
2. Water less frequently, but deeply
Frequent, shallow waterings lead to weak, shallow-rooted plants. Less frequent, thorough watering encourages roots to grow deep, where the soil stays moist longer.
3. Water the soil, not the plants
Use a watering can, soaker hoses, drip irrigation or other water-conserving irrigation technique that saturates the soil while leaving the foliage dry.
As is the case when establishing any new landscape, early spring and fall are the optimal times to install new plant material. During the time when the ground is cooler and milder temperatures. The adequate precipitation will enable plants to establish a healthier, more resilient root system.
4. Don’t forget the mulch
Mulch does much more than improve curb appeal. A two- to three-inch layer of organic mulch:
Helps retain soil moisture
Keeps soil temperatures cooler
Reduces weed growth
Prevents erosion
Improves soil health as it breaks down
Keeping mulch refreshed each season can significantly reduce water loss during the hottest months of the year.
Need Some Professional Landscaping Help?
Let Cider Mill Landscapes help you select plants, shrubs and trees that are drought and heat-tolerant. While mkaing a unique and spectacular look. Give us a call at 484.574.4666 or contact us online for your free landscaping consultation.
