Plant Pathology Infobytes
August 17, 1999
Sun Scald Dogwoods and Too Hot Hostas
In a couple of months, homeowners will add Southern favorites to the landscape. Temperature and rainfall patterns will return to normal, and the fall planting season will be here.
The current hot, dry weather is tough on woody ornamentals and trees. However, observant home landscapers have probably noted that some plants appear healthier than others. Keep in mind that most plants have a preferred planting location, and that's obviously where they should be planted if they are to live up to their potential and add to the beauty of your landscape setting. If the wrong location is chosen, plants generally don't grow well under adverse conditions (such as we're now experiencing) and may detract from the appearance of the landscape.
Plants do better in some locations than others for a variety of reasons. For example, this is frequently obvious when flowering dogwoods are planted in an open sun environment. Dogwoods are native to shady woodlands, so they won't grow well as a general rule if planted in full sun where their shallow root systems tend to dry out quickly. On the other hand, dogwoods also won't thrive in poorly drained areas or locations where there is a high water table.
Here's one solution to healthier dogwoods. Try growing yours in a raised bed beneath the under story of taller trees (where they'll receive filtered sunlight). The roots of your dogwood will find a happy home in a higher and drier environment. The filtered sunlight will provide a shady home and prevent sun scald. Your dogwoods will more closely resemble those grown by Mother Nature.
The same principle also hold true for shade-loving plants such as hostas. These plants thrive under a shady well-drained growing environment, but can't handle direct sunlight. "Too Hot" hostas appear to have a fungus disease, but the problem is just too much direct sunlight.
Homeowners spend a lot of money on landscape improvements, but often neglect spending little time in checking out the preferred growing conditions of landscape plants they're about to purchase. Information on how to obtain a healthier landscape is as close as your county Extension office, so drop by for a visit and pick up copies of free publications on a variety of home landscape topics.
Infobytes newsletter was written by the late Dr. Frank Killebrew, Extension Specialist.