SUMMER watering advice

The summer heat blazes on, and our lawns and gardens are starting to droop! Horticulture experts say plants need extra attention to make it through these hottest weeks of summer. <br><br>Their advice:

Tuesday, July 24th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The summer heat blazes on, and our lawns and gardens are starting to droop! Horticulture experts say plants need extra attention to make it through these hottest weeks of summer.

Their advice: water fescue lawns twice a week, Bermuda lawns once, and flower beds twice a week. They see people make some common watering mistakes, such as sprinkling in late afternoon, or watering the tops of plants but not their bases.

Sue Gray, OSU Extension Horticulturalist: "I also see people blasting the soil surface with water, thinking they're going to get it in there faster and all they're going to do is compact the soil and it scatters the mulch away and exposes the roots -- it's better to have a slow trickle."

Experts say plants need at least an inch of water a week. They also recommend mulch as one of the best protections for heat stressed plants.