After several days of heat indices over 100°, you might expect a native garden to be struggling.
Instead, this is when established native plants remind us why they’re so special.
These plants have spent thousands of years evolving alongside our local climate. They’ve weathered hot, humid summers, droughts, torrential downpours, and everything in between. They aren’t just surviving our weather, they’ve adapted to it.
That doesn’t mean they won’t show signs of the heat. Some may droop a bit during the hottest part of the afternoon as they conserve moisture, only to perk back up as the evening cools. It’s a normal response, not a cry for help.
Even during a heat wave like this one, established native plants generally don’t need supplemental watering. Their deep root systems reach moisture far below the surface, making them incredibly resilient when temperatures soar.
Of course, newly planted natives are different. They need regular watering while they establish those deep roots. But once they do, they become remarkably self-sufficient.
It’s one of my favorite reminders that gardening with native plants isn’t about constantly working against nature, it’s about trusting plants that have been working with nature all along.