How to deal with the heat wave
My outdoor elderberry bush finally started thriving this year! It’s so big!! But here in south west Missouri we are dying in the heat and my elderberry is no exception. I’ve noticed the leaves getting more wilted and even the stems weakening. The bugs aren’t helping either but I’m terrified to use neem oil with the sun being so brutal out! I don’t want to over water it, it’s in a partial shaded area now where it only gets early morning sun and then the tree blocks out the harshest bits but still these 95°+ days are just seeming to be too much so what else can I do? If I water more is there a risk of over doing it or is that the best solution?
Last watered 1 year ago
6
You'll most likely need to be watering 2-3x more than average but also giving it some shade or a shade cloth is a tremendous help. Some black mosquito netting or a giant umbrella would do. Just something to help block the sun, even though I requires a lot of sun, it'll thank you a millions times for the shade during the extreme heat
I’m not sure if this is relevant to your situation, but I live on a bog by a creek in Alabama. It’s wet 24/7 year round even during the 100+ day drought we had a couple years back. Our bog/creek bank is full of wild American elderberry trees. IME they grow great in wet conditions.
I don’t know how different one in a garden might be than one growing wild. It might also make a difference whether yours is the American or European variety. YMMV
I don’t know how different one in a garden might be than one growing wild. It might also make a difference whether yours is the American or European variety. YMMV
@Ninabeena I was thinking about spraying the neem oil when the sun sets that way it’s for sure dry by the morning. I mean even at night we aren’t dipping below 78°. We found a ton of those caterpillar cocoons in the tree near the elderberry which I think is what has been nibbling on my leaves. I will definitely up my water schedule. Maybe even change the time of day too. That way it doesn’t all just evaporate out! Thank you!
@KrunchyWrapz I will have to look into a shade cover!! I planted in the spot I did because I knew summers could get a bit warm and I wanted a shaded area that still got morning sun especially in the spring which worked out perfect since the tree didn’t have leaves yet so it grew like a weed during the spring. But that tree isn’t providing enough shade I don’t think. And I will definitely be updating my water schedule. Thank you for the advice
@HeraMonstera so I am not sure which I have. First time I scanned it the app said American Black Elderberry- Then it said European. So IDK. But I killed its sister plant by overwatering (it was just a little rooted cutting though) but at this point it’s large enough that I don’t really know how much overwatering will affect it. I mean it’s clearly not happy now so I guess I can’t really hurt it at this point lol -