Some plants will bounce back from a summer scorching, while others may never recover With hosepipe bans in force across

Some plants will bounce back from a summer scorching, while others may never recover Some plants will bounce back from a summer scorching, while others may never recover With hosepipe bans in force across several English regions and more restrictions likely to follow, gardeners face some tough choices. When every drop counts, which plants deserve your precious water from the water butt, and which should you leave to fend for themselves? As someone who has researched how British gardeners need to adapt to respond to our changing climate, I can tell you that not all garden plants are created equal when it comes to water needs.

Any woody plant installed in the last 12-18 months should be your absolute priority. These haven’t yet developed the deep root systems needed to find moisture reserves and going without enough water the first year or so after planting could kill them.

Water thoroughly and add a deep mulch of wood chips to help the soil hold water. For young trees you can install a watering bag around the trunk but you still need to top it up. Hydrangeas adopt a conservative strategy when it comes to drought.

They shut their stomata (leaf pores) rapidly when they sense dry soil, and keep them closed until consistent moisture returns. They often drop their leaves too. This can mean many weeks without growth, after even a relatively short drought period.

So if you want to keep them looking at their best, they need consistent watering. You can cut growth back to reduce water loss, and save the the plant at the cost of flowers.