Caring for Landscapes During Drought

Drought can be terrible news for a homeowner with a beautiful landscape, especially if the plants are relatively new. The best landscape design services in places like Georgia should account for summer conditions with plant choice and water system design, but sometimes, that isn’t enough.

Caring for landscapes during drought requires prioritizing where water is used, protecting soil moisture, reducing plant stress, and adjusting irrigation. Making a plan to care for your landscape in case of a drought is a smart move, helping you make sure you protect both your plants and your investment.

Prioritizing Water

Part of intentional landscape design is assuring that not every plant used has the same water requirements. This applies to both amount and frequency.

Newly planted greenery and turf might need more attention, while mature plants with developed root systems might need less. Water needs are also affected by location on the property, soil quality, and shade.

During a drought, evaluate your property and categorize levels of need. Record which plants are showing signs of stress, which areas are drying fastest after watering, and how far irrigation is reaching. By optimizing water to be used where it’s needed most, you can care for your plants better and with less water.

Protecting Soil Moisture

One of the damaging impacts of drought is drying soil. During drought, not only do plants not get enough water, but what moisture there is can be baked out by the sun. This is why several of the best low-water landscaping ideas for Georgia related to ground and bed cover.

Mulch and pine straw can protect plant beds from the heat, respectively capturing moisture and allowing it to drain into the beds without evaporating as quickly. Check beds regularly to see if coverage needs to be replaced. If there’s a consistent problem with needing to re-cover certain beds, there might be an issue with drainage or grading.

Droughts can bring up issues that were otherwise invisible. Effective maintenance means solving underlying problems rather than constantly addressing symptoms.

Reducing Plant Stress

During droughts, plans suffer and their internal workings change as they try to preserve resources and survive. This is another place where experts trained in horticulture can be invaluable. Plants that regularly need pruning might grow a point that would normally trigger maintenance when it could actually be harmful to them.

If you’ve wondered about the common landscaping mistakes to avoid, one of them is not adjusting a maintenance schedule to account for the weather. A regular maintenance schedule is important for keeping landscapes beautiful and healthy, but when conditions change, so should the schedule. 

Just like watering practices should change during rainstorms, pruning and irrigation should adjust relative to droughts.     

Adjusting Irrigation

Irrigation systems are another place droughts can reveal issues that have previously been invisible. Once turf begins declining in severe heat, damaged sprinklers or incomplete coverage might reveal itself.

During a drought, look for:

• Water running on hardscape

• Runoff on slopes

• Contrasts between turfs in similar conditions

Any of these signs could lead you to a damaged or obstructed irrigation component.

Protecting Your Landscape No Matter What

The professionals at Michaelangelo's Sustainable Landscape and Design Group are experts at planning ahead. We design, build, and care for properties across North Atlanta, and we know how to build a system ready to handle the heat. 

If you want to plan the perfect landscape that’s an extension of your home or HOA, or if drought is exposing issues in your current design, book a consultation with us today and let us help you get on the right path.

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