How does your garden grow? Not much these days due to drought

Dry weather is getting to be a serious matter in lawns and gardens. Here are some things to look for in plants stressed by drought.

-- Tomato vines are going to wilt and stop producing flowers and fruits when the soil gets too dry. Green tomatoes will ripen on vines stressed by drought, but they will be smaller than normal. The bottom, or blossom end, could rot and cause the whole tomato to be worthless. Ripening tomatoes are likely to split and crack when you add water to their dry soil.

-- Cucumbers turn bitter and grow curled instead of straight when water is a problem. Seeds germinate slowly or not at all in dry gardens where collard, turnip and other greens were planted in hopes of an autumn harvest.

-- The bright green foliage of boxwoods fades to a dull gray-green when the drought gets extreme. Dry soil predisposes boxwoods to diseases, so be prepared for plenty of volutella blight and English boxwood decline in the future.

-- Azaleas and rhododendrons now struggling with drought may end up with major dieback next year. Their branches are killed by fungal diseases, which occur a year or so after a stressful season.

-- Roses are going to have fewer and smaller blossoms than usual next month and into the fall unless there is some rain soon. Your roses could also be greener than ever, with less yellowing and dropping of leaves, because dry weather inhibits black spot disease.

-- Peony, phlox and other perennials are wilted and starting to turn brown. These deep-rooted plants are going dormant much earlier than normal to avoid further damage caused by drought.

-- Dogwood leaves are starting to fold, curl and wilt. If no rain comes, their leaves will soon appear scorched and crisp around the edge. In recent years, dogwood leaves have turned completely brown in late summer. Although the trees leaf out and look normal the next year, they are weakened by the drought. A fatal disease called dogwood canker sometimes follows a dry season.

-- Leaves turn bright yellow on tulip trees (yellow poplars) when the soil gets too dry. Then, they turn brown and drop to the ground. Many of these tall trees have already lost half of their leaves.

-- Mites are causing leaves to turn from green to yellow and brown. These tiny members of the spider family feed on a variety of plants, destroying chlorophyll and causing leaf drop. They thrive in dry weather, and are often a pest on spruce, rose, butterfly bush and marigold.

If your plants have mites, you could spray them with water to rinse their leaves and dislodge the mites. Mites do not thrive in an environment with abundant water.

-- Lawns are brown and in a state of dormancy, unless you have some kind of irrigation system. How much of the grass will die and need replanting as a result of the drought is anyone’s guess. It could be a large amount.

-- Crabgrass has stopped germinating and wiregrass is turning yellow. The seeds of chickweed are lying dormant waiting for the ideal combination of temperature and moisture needed for germination.
That will signal the start of chickweed’s life cycle and a new beginning for related weeds, such as bittercress and speedwell.