People living in India are well aware of the terrible humid summer season the country undergoes every year. Although inhabitants are lucky enough to be able to find solace in air-conditioned indoors, your garden in 3 BHK flats in Thane or luxury apartments in Mumbai, unfortunately, cannot.
Gardening enthusiasts know how daunting the task is. Those living in villas still have the luxury of customizing the garden space according to their needs. However, people residing in studios or flats have to be more creative to take care of plants during the blazing summers.
The scorching heat ends up accentuating the rate of evaporation, which ultimately makes plants’ leaves dry and droopy. That’s why this article sheds light on some of the most inexpensive tips to help you prepare your apartment garden for summer and take care of your household flora.
Protect from Severe Sunlight
To save your plants from withering, it’s pertinent that you should protect the apartment garden from sunlight and heat as much as you can. If it receives harsh sunlight, you need to add a protective layer to create a bulwark against uncontrolled evaporation.
A parasol, shade cloth or even an overhang would do the job. You need to keep an eye out for plants that are showing clear symbols of withering due to heat. Either place them indoors or in a less sunny spot in your balcony garden.
Water Carefully
Watering during accentuated evaporation is a complicated task. If you water your plants in the harsh daytime sunlight, you will end up burning out your plants. To avoid that, water your plants at cooler times of the day when the rate of transpiration is reduced.
Early morning and evening times are the finest times to water plants in moist climates. In case you have potted plants, make sure you fill the container with enough water for them to survive on. Don’t let the pots in your terrace garden stay waterlogged for a longer period.
Make Summer-Friendly Changes
As the weather changes, so are our diets. If you love drinking hot coffee in winter, you wouldn’t relish it during summers. That’s because our internal changes in bodies make us adapt to the change in weather. The same is the case with the plants. When the temperature increases, the ability of soil to absorb nutrients in fertilizer loses. Therefore, you need to buy liquid fertilizers which can be absorbed conveniently. Make sure to not add too much fertilizer though because that would instead wither your plants.
Make a few changes in the apartment garden in order to prepare it for summers. For starters, get an organic fertilizer encompassing seaweed extract in it. Seaweeds have compounds such as Betaine and the carbohydrate-derivative Mannitol which guard plants against drought.
Use Best Flowering Indoor Plants
There are some of the best flowering indoor plants which you can add in your apartment to enhance its aesthetic beauty.
Anthurium: Famous for their lipstick red (or dusky pink) lily pad-like blooms, anthurium are making their way on the list of best house plants. They have a retro vibe to them. And the flowers are essentially a modified leaf so the plant is in bloom year-round. Therefore, you can use anthurium as an entryway or living room centerpiece, or add it to a green gathering for a pretty pop of color.
Snake Plant: Available in a number of diverse varieties, this cheery succulent grows straight up. This makes it an excellent choice for those who have a flat with small balconies. Snake plants are also popular for purifying indoor air, so many people use them for their supposed purification qualities too. You can also group some of these in different sizes near a bedroom window and you’ll have an awesome arrangement to bring a little green vibe in your sleeping space.
Marble Queen Pothos: They are known to be one of the quickest house plants to grow. The Marble Queen Pothos has beautiful heart-shaped leaves and increasing vines that will rapidly fill your plant shelf with beauty. Because it can flourish in low-light surroundings and with less-than-ideal watering practices, this very easy species is ideal for beginners or for anyone who is less than industrious about their plant care.
Summer-Specific Plants to Grow
There are some balcony garden plants suitable for the humid weather in India. They have the ability to take more stress as they are less reactive to the cruel summer season. If you are in favor of growing an indoor vegetation garden, these alternatives would be best suited to your garden.
Carissa Macrocarpa, a.k.a. natal plum, an evergreen balcony plant, is better able to survive the heat in Thane. This shrub has white flowers which give a strong scent during night time. The plant can grow easily as its seeds sprout within two or four weeks of sowing. And the fact that the plant doesn’t need any fertilizer makes the maintenance even easier.
Another best plant for sunny balconies is frangipani. It’s a small tree with beautiful scented white and yellow petal flowers. While it grows slowly, you can still plant it and it will adjust quickly. Don’t forget to add the cut branches to the soil and water it accurately and it will grow just fine.
Petunia is yet another flower famous for surviving humid temperatures. You can add a shrub or two to increase some vivacity in your garden.
Create Makeshift Shades
Whether you are looking for property for sale in Thane or apartments in Byculla, if you choose a living space that has baloney prone to direct sunlight, then you might consider creating a makeshift shade. This is vital to dial-up the defense against sunlight. If you have any clay pots or terracotta, consider covering a wet cloth around them.
These pots are not as heat-resistant as others and a wet cloth would act as a transpiration barrier. Another thing which you can do is to add pebbles on the top layer of the soil of your potted plants to further decrease the rate of the otherwise rapid evaporation.
In all, these are some of the easy-to-follow tips that won’t break your bank. Follow them to prepare a beautiful garden in your residence and your vegetation will stay flamboyant throughout the hot season.
