H-O-T

It's hot. Almost every day, the temperature is near 100 degrees. And it has been dry for almost two months. Every plant in the yard is showing stress.

The loquat is loosing leaves in the heat.


The coleus is faded.


The aucuba is sunburned.


The roses blooms dehydrate almost as soon as they open.


Potted plants like this mexican mint marigold are suffering the most since their caretaker doesn't want to venture into the heat to water.


The bouganvillas are barely hanging on.


Even the moss rose, who looks comparatively good, is shriveling a little.

Clearance Rack

The home improvement store isn't the place to find plant expertise, but it's a good place to find deals.  (It's the lack of expertise that creates the deals.)

On Monday, I found these caladium for $1 each on the clearance rack at Lowe's at the Rim. Their colors remind me of watermelon - an appropriate addition for the Fourth Of July holiday.

           
Tonight, I stopped at a different Lowe's and spotted these Goldmoss Stonecrop for $2 each. The plants look reasonably healthy and the entire clearance cart was full of them so I assume the problem was a lack of demand. After a Super Thrive soaking, they should be ready for my rock ledge.

A few weeks ago, I rescued four forlorn moss rose plants that were marked down to 25 cents. Looking at  them today, you'd never suspect they were on they were only days away from becoming compost fodder.