How can you tell if a drought-damaged plant is half dead, or is it just having a bad day?

[laughs] Well, certain plants like hydrangeas, rhododendrons, dogwoods, have all struggled this summer because of the drought.

I mean, hydrangea, you know, clue's in the name.

They like a lot of moisture.

And it's not just that they want, you know, the hose pipe or the watering can.

They want moisture that comes from good, rich, deep soil, which is what rhododendrons want as well.

If they've got moisture like that, they can often come through.

If a plant has wilted leaves or it's lost a lot of its leaves, what should we do, Nick?

... that's not gonna be enough, is it, for these containers? They need to get the water right into the soil, don't they?

Yeah, absolutely, and that is a, that's a very good point, 'cause people think, "Oh, great, it's rained." And even on, you know, summers that aren't like this summer, "It's rained.

I haven't had to water the pots." You always need to water pots.

Rain never really waters pots sufficiently.

It, you might get a bit of water on the top, but especially if you've got evergreens in pots, what happens is the rain just hits those leaves, bounces straight off, never actually gets to the soil, so the pots dry.

Don't be tempted to water the leaves.

We are watering 'cause we are actually watering.

Is there anything I can do to prevent that? And what do I do now that my oregano, for example, is in flower?