11 Important Secrets to Keep Flowers Healthy the Rest of Summer!
5 Minutes
Easy
Readers ask me all the time how I keep the flowers so pretty in these hot summer months? I live in Texas with 100+ degrees for months, so it takes some special care.
Today, I want to share with you some chemist secrets to keep your flowers healthy for the rest of this summer!
Even if your climate isn’t as warm as mine, you can still follow these tips to keep your blooms looking pretty through the fall.
The best part, everything we are sharing today is CHEAP and easy! That is the beauty of chemistry in the garden 
If your flowers struggle in the summer, these tips will help!
1. DON’T Fertilize
I share this tip all the time. Fertilizing in the summer is not good for flowers.
Why?
High nitrogen levels found in fertilizer reacts with the heat from the sun and scorches plants. If your weather is below 85 during the day, you can still get away with small quantities.
Our homemade plant food , an all-time reader favorite, is best to use in spring, early summer, and then again in the fall. Get the link to this in the blog post.
2. Provide Other Nutrients
In our book, we have a special organic formula that is gentle and safe enough to use in the summer. The reason this is okay compared to traditional fertilizers, is the nitrogen level is low enough to not react with heat, plus it is slow releasing.
If you don’t own the book, check out our feeding tips in this rose post (get the link to this in the blog post). It can be used for other plants too!
Organic nutrients work different than fertilizer, so it is much safer during the summer months.
3. Feed Leaves with Epsom Salt Spray
Another popular post on Chemistry Cachet is how to shine houseplant leaves. I mention this Epsom salt spray I use to feed the plants, but it is also a great nutrient for outside plants.
Magnesium helps keep the flowers and plants vivid and bright even when the sun is harsh.
4. Keep Summer Bugs Away with Cinnamon
In the Summer, there is so many bugs that destroy plants. I just keep cinnamon sprinkled on the soil along with drops of cinnamon oil.
It has helped keep all the summer bugs away so my flowers stay healthy! This post explains all the chemistry behind cinnamon (visit the blog post for the link to this cinnamon post and the best cinnamon to use).
This is great for other plants too like vegetables and fruits.
5. Sprinkle Lemon Powder around Soil
Our favorite lemon powder works wonders for plants. It adds a great slow releasing potassium boost for flowers. It works great for potted plants and flower beds too. To get this lemon powder tutorial click the blog post below!!
Bonus: it deters bugs! Lemon in general deters flies, gnats, and mosquitoes which is why we use it in this homemade bug spray (click blog post link to get this homemade bug spray). It works great for keeping them away from plants too. This and the cinnamon work great together.
6. Treat Leaf Fungus
To keep flowers pretty in the summer, you have to keep up with the fungal diseases.
For roses, I use this method (link to this method in blog post below). This also helps with any mildew or black spot on most flowers. The organic spray in this post is one of my favorites ( link in blog post)
You can also whip up a homemade remedy with aspirin! Aspirin is an awesome home tool to use. Just read this post for all the details under number three.
Make sure to check out our link below to get the rest of the chemist tips for keeping your flowers healthy the rest of the summer. These tips have details on watering and sunlight!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Thank you so much for all these great ideas to keep our plants beautiful!
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