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! URGENT! Keeping potted plants in garage while on vacation during massive heat wave

Lena_vs_DeerLena_vs_Deer Posts: 203
in Problem solving
Hello gardeners!
We have been planning to go see our family for a long time and now that we are about to leave for 5 days we got an alert for a massive heat wave coming to the area we live in. So basically, everything will boil in my pots on the patio and balcony only while we’re away for our trip… I can’t put my pots in shade due to heavy deer prowling in our garden. I can’t ask my neighbor to water pots every day either, since he has busted knees and he’d have to hike up a really long staircase to our balcony. 

So I was thinking … could I perhaps move all my pots to garage for 5 days? 
It’s mainly roses. Will they be fine without sun for such a long time ? 

Will probably have to do it anyway, but I guess I’m trying to set my expectations for what I will see when I get home . It’s been incredibly hot already and I’ve seen some drooping from fresh growth so they will be 100% damaged if I just leave them in full sun .

 Thank you in advance!


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  • luis_prluis_pr Posts: 123
    edited June 2021
    My garage gets awfully warm when temps hit the 110sF++/43C++ so any plants in the garage would melt like ice unless you leave the garage open (I do not recommend that). If you do not have an automatic drip system for watering pots, water them extremely, superbly well and then put pots in temporary shade. Apply Plantskydd (Walmart, Amazon, etc.) to protect from deer. But if the deer get them, oh well. Enjoy the vacation and stay safe.
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    Can you put them in shallow troughs/trays of water for a really good soak just as you leave?
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I would leave them on your balcony but rig up shade for them, using upturned tables, a clothes dryer or any temporary structure you can lay your hands on, then drape old curtains, sheets etc. over the top. If you do that, water really well before you go and also place the pots in trays or washing up bowls of water - again anything you can rustle up. You may still have some fried blooms under there, even in shade, but the rose bushes will survive OK for 5 days and will revive on your return.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Lena_vs_DeerLena_vs_Deer Posts: 203
    I definitely can and will put some pots in pans willed with water. Shame I don’t have enough heh… 
    and we don’t have any old curtains or something like that to use to make makeshift shade haha… we moved to this house only few years ago from apartment:D so we’re low on things in a house and haven’t had enough time to accumulate my thing ))) extra water pans included heh. 

    I will try to use pans for my hostas and pomegranate shrub. Definitely will try to tip over a table for some extra shade as it had been suggested!
    so thank you everyone for advice.

    Can’t really go get deer repellent or cloth since we’re literally hours away from going to airport and I’m just scrambling to fix this )) I initially watered all pots really well and was gonna soak them every day last 3 days and really satiate them. But we’re already having temperatures over a 100 :(  

    lime tree leaves wheat WHITE :|  

    So we made an executive decision to move all the tender new DA roses along with most favorite ones (like fussy Earth Angel) in our guest room that’s mainly empty. We didn’t get to furnish it since we moved in and then cid happened so we never went to look at furniture…

    So that probably will be it! Flat trash bags underneath so we can still use them after . Watered before getting pots in. Room won’t get too hot as it is North oriented (actually coolest room in a whole house) .

    thank you everyone for input! 

    I’ll update this with results of how much lived through ! :D 
  • gondorgondor Posts: 135
    August last year I broke my hand whilst away from home and didn't get back for 2 weeks. I thought that most of my plants had died in the hot weather as they had dried out (some of which were in the ground) but after a thorough watering and a few weeks, most of them came back to life.
  • luis_prluis_pr Posts: 123
    Turn off any inside overhead fans so the air flow does not dry out the potting soil in the picture quickly.
  • gondorgondor Posts: 135
    @Lena_vs_Deer your hedgehog is very cute! Hope he will survive as well as the plants.
  • Lena_vs_DeerLena_vs_Deer Posts: 203
    edited July 2021
    Oopffff… so an update.
    we came back from vacation….
    garden of course is damaged severely…. Plants are alive, but top leaves on all shrubs are scorched to paper white and brown… probably will have do some a lot of pruning. A bit lost to to be honest with what to do about all that. Will post some stuff tomorrow.
    BUT roses survived and are doing amazingly well! Came back to a rose garden in full bloom :) 


    One slight mishap - some blooms are way to pale. But that’s such a non-problem in comparison to the damage done by the heat wave 

    Here’s a perfectly white Earth Angel :) maybe other blooms will get proper pink tomorrow:) 

  • Lena_vs_DeerLena_vs_Deer Posts: 203

    gondor said:
    August last year I broke my hand whilst away from home and didn't get back for 2 weeks. I thought that most of my plants had died in the hot weather as they had dried out (some of which were in the ground) but after a thorough watering and a few weeks, most of them came back to life.
    This is what I will have to do now with my actual garden haha… nothing but lavender lived through the heat wave. But survived idea keep me a bit cheered up now :) 

    and hedgehog lived too haha, didn’t melt or anything. 
  • Lena_vs_DeerLena_vs_Deer Posts: 203
    luis_pr said:
    Turn off any inside overhead fans so the air flow does not dry out the potting soil in the picture quickly.
    That was a great reminder! 
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