How I'm keeping my container plants well watered in July without needing to water them every day – and none of them involve a hose pipe
The go-to tips I've learnt from experience and experts
I learned the hard way just how much effort it is to keep a container garden watered and thriving in July. My London flat has a tiny outdoor space that is completely paved over, and when I moved in last year, I thought I'd keep things simple with container garden ideas, rather than re-landscaping the tiny space. If only someone had warned me that caring for pot plants is anything but simple, especially when faced with scorching hot weather.
July is one of the hardest times of year to keep your plants watered, even more so than August, as the days are at their longest and the temperature is usually at its highest. That means your plants have a lot of time to lose water through their leaves, and for the soil to dry out too. However, this year, it is extra hard with a hosepipe ban being introduced for parts of England.
However, the last thing I want to do is be out watering my plants every day at 6 am before commuting into the office. Last July, I learned the consequences of neglecting my watering duties; my garden became a sad, wilted and scorched plant graveyard. So this year I've been preparing myself, learning all the tricks in the book from experts to ensure my garden is well watered in July without needing to go outside with my watering can every day, and ensuring they're well watered when I go away on holiday.
My selection of pot plants in my paved over garden.
1. Opt for larger pots
This was a huge mistake I made with my first selection of container pots. I filled up my garden centre trolley with a selection of gorgeous little terracotta pots to dot around the garden. Unfortunately, small pots are the hardest to keep well watered as they smaller amount of compost, which means they dry out particularly fast.
Instead, this year I've opted for larger pots that hold water far better, and I can plant a couple of plants in them better. Not only do they look better, but the larger pots have also survived the recent heatwave the best.
'Small pots are an absolute pest,' says Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticulturist. 'If you're going to have small pots, plant something really drought resistant in them, like a succulent or a pelargonium.'
'It is much better to go for the biggest pots you can afford and handle, and then choose plants that are reasonably drought resistant,' he adds. 'But avoid things like begonias and fuchsias that are quite thirsty.'
I have several large planters with miniature trees growing in them, including a fig and dwarf apple tree.
2. Invest in saucers
If, like me, you have already bought a whole load of smaller pots, the answer to keeping them well hydrated is to invest in saucers. All my mini terracotta pots now have a matching saucer sat under them so that they can suck up any excess water that runs out of the pot when watering.
Alternatively, you could try adding a self-watering insert to a plant pot like one of these from Elho on Amazon. Elho makes some gorgeous, smaller plant pots, and their self-watering inserts are designed to make keeping your plants healthy and thriving so much easier. I currently have the bouncy basil plant pot, £19 at Amazon, on my wishlist for my herb garden ideas.
3. Use a compost for containers
One of the most crucial steps in keeping your plants well watered in July with little effort is to invest in a compost designed for containers.
'The best thing to do is to go for a potting compost that's formulated for tubs and containers, and that will be quite fine, so it'll hold a lot of water in the spaces between the fine compost particles, but still have enough air for the summer,' explains Guy about what compost you should choose.
Our Garden Editor, Sophie King, is a huge fan of the Dalefoot peat-free wool compost, available at Crocus. It is ideal for tubs and containers because the wool allows it to hold onto moisture really well so you don't have to water your plants as frequently. She's used it to fill her own grow table, which is currently thriving.
4. Set up a drip watering system
The are many drip watering systems out there that you can attach to an outdoor tap. However, I wanted to make the most of water I'd harvested during heavy rain fall or while waiting for my shower to heat up so I've set up the Gardena solar-powered AquaBloom irrigation set, £87 at Amazon. It comes with a water tank you can fill up with water every now and again, but I opted to use a large plant pot to disguise the water source in my container garden.
When setting up a drip irrigation system Guy's advice is to make sure you plants are getting just enough water to survive. You can then top up the watering when needed.
'What you do is you set them up so that they deliver the minimum quantity of water to keep the plant alive, and then you can top it up with the watering can as you see fit, or if it sets into rain,' says Guy. 'With my containers when I go away on holiday, I set the automatic watering system to water them for three minutes at 3 o'clock in the morning, that keeps them alive till I come back.'
The Garden AquaBloom irrigation set keeping a selection of pots well watered.
5. Use a mulch
A layer of mulch over the top of my plant pots is one of the quickest and easiest changes I'm making to keep my container plants well watered in July without watering daily. Our Senior Digital Editor, Jenny McFarlane, has been raving about the RocketGro Magic Mulch she bought on Amazon that has helped her garden to thrive despite the heatwave and sudden downpours in June.
Mulch helps rain to soak into the compost in the container, but it also stops the water the compost is holding from drying out. It also has the added benefit of adding nutrients to your pots, which will help your plants to keep thriving.
Add to basket
Will you be using any of these low maintance garden ideas to keep your plants watered this July with minimal effort?
