{"id":336,"date":"2016-06-10T10:20:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T10:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/?p=336"},"modified":"2016-06-10T10:20:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T10:20:32","slug":"garden-prone-waterlogging-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/garden-prone-waterlogging-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with a Garden Prone to Waterlogging and Flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">How to Reduce Flooding\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Water-logging Around Your Home<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Water-logging and flooding is a disaster for plants and few will survive prolonged periods of inhabiting saturated ground. However, if your garden is prone to water build up, it doesn\u2019t have to be the end of the world as there are various techniques that can be used to improve conditions and promote natural drainage.<span style=\"color: #ffffff\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">What is Water-logging?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">When water builds up to the point when it\u2019s no longer able to drain away, the soil becomes waterlogged. This means that there are no air spaces in the soil and consequently the water is unable to drain away naturally. This isn\u2019t just bad news for the ground though, it\u2019s bad news for your lawn and plants too as they\u2019ll essentially be drowning at the roots.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">Symptoms of Water-logged Ground<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">When it comes to diagnosing your plants, it\u2019s not always easy to single the symptoms of waterlogging out but as a rule, you should look for the following:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yellowing or decaying between the veins on the leaves<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ll find soft areas at the centre and\/or base of the leaf<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The plant could look as though it\u2019s lacking water \u2013 it may even start to wilt<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Newly formed shoots could die due to lack of moisture \u2013 it\u2019s ironic, but too much water actually prevents the roots from carrying water to the leaves<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Herbaceous plants may not sprout, alternatively, their leaves could open and then die<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\u00a0The symptoms of waterlogged plants are often confused with those of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhs.org.uk\/advice\/profile?pid=312\">water stress<\/a> and for very good reason. The truth is, a waterlogged plant <em>is <\/em>water stressed \u2013 on the surface at least \u2013 because its waterlogged roots are unable to supply the leaves with the essential water and nutrients they need.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">How Does Water-logging Affect Plants?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Too much water can cause all kinds of problems for delicate garden plants and here are just a few:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During the winter months, it\u2019s much more likely for plants to survive waterlogged soils because roots require far less oxygen to survive<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waterlogging seriously limits the oxygen supply to the roots and, as a consequence, prevents carbon dioxide from diffusing also. This causes root systems to die and decay organisms to invade the plant<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waterlogged soils cause the collapse of natural drainage routes as all of the oxygen is removed. This means that each time it rains even more water will build up on the ground\u2019s surface<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">Short Term Control<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">There are a number of short and long term techniques that can be used to control and restrict the effects of waterlogged ground.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After a heavy downpour or flooding it\u2019s a good idea to collect any debris that\u2019s been left behind, as well as washing down hard surfaces. This is a quick and easy way to prevent the blockage of drainage systems and soil surfaces being covered<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep away from the soil until it\u2019s had the chance to recover. By walking over saturated soil you\u2019ll compact the ground and therefore worsen the conditions<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take care to remove any already damaged shoots from your plants<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s common for dry spells to follow flooding so it\u2019s essential to thoroughly water your plants during these periods in order to ensure they receive enough moisture as, after a period of flooding, plants are more susceptible to drought stress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">Long Term Control<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">If your garden is prone to flooding and waterlogged areas then long term control will almost certainly be far more beneficial.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">With just a few small changes to your garden you should feel the benefits of improved drainage and less worry almost straight away.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: center\">\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Improving soil structure and drainage might seem like a daunting task but it\u2019s surprisingly easy thanks to specialist products like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/22-porous-paving\">X-Grid<\/a>. X-Grid can be laid and packed with soil and finally grass seed and is one of the best, environmentally friendly, cost effective drainage solutions available. The cellular design of each individual grid promotes natural drainage and helps to reduce the buildup of surface water, consequently reducing the risk of flooding<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Grow plants in a raised bed as this provides a much deeper drainage channel \u2013 which is much less likely to collapse \u2013 to the ground<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not just grass that\u2019s affected by flooding, quite often the effects are far worse for hard surfaces. Be sure to use permeable surfaces when laying driveways, paths and patios in order to ensure natural drainage is promoted, rather than hindered. X-Grid is perfect for this purpose also. As X-Grid can be filled with gravel, soil and grass seed, bark and a selection of other materials, they make the perfect permeable paving surface for driveways and patio areas prone to flooding because of a lack of drainage<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ensure the trees and plants you choose to nurture are well suited to wetter soils<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #3f732b\">If you\u2019re unsure about any of the advice in this piece then please don\u2019t hesitate to get in touch, alternatively take a look at our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/21-permeable-paving\">permeable paving section<\/a> for the perfect solution to your waterlog-prone garden.<\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to Reduce Flooding\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Water-logging Around Your Home Water-logging and flooding is a disaster for plants and few will survive prolonged periods of inhabiting saturated ground. However, if your garden is prone to water build up, it doesn\u2019t have to be the end of the world as there are various techniques that can be used to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[103,258],"class_list":["post-336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-tips-hints","tag-flooding","tag-waterlogging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matsgrids.co.uk\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}