It's Easier For Small Shrubs To Survive Summer

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Small shrubs survive summer better. It's fun to plant in spring when garden centers are full of trees and shrubs in bloom, but they can face tough times come a hot summer like this one because newly planted trees and shrubs just don't have enough roots in the ground yet to support all their leaves. So, they depend on you their first summer, and this year, that meant a lot of turning on the hose and watching your water bill rise.

I did plant ten shrubs in late May, but they were all teensy tiny - less than a foot high - and these are shrubs that'll grow to be 8 to 15 feet tall. But because they're so small now they didn't need much water. They got a drink now and then (thanks largely to my friend Chris who watered for me during a droughty spell while I was away) and that was enough.

So next year, if you can't resist the urge to plant in late spring, remember that smaller trees and shrubs have a better chance of making it through the summer because they need so much less water.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio