Development Home Page John W. Jett Horticulture Specialist WVU Extension Service Drought and hot, dry weather can have an adverse effect on garden and ornamental plants. When you find yourself in the middle of a drought, there are strategies to save or salvage home gardens and landscapes.
Water is lost from plants and gardens in two ways.
The first is by the evaporation of water from the soil surface. As the soil surface dries, more water from deep within the soil may be drawn to the soil surface, where it also evaporates. The second way water is removed from soil by plants in a process called transpiration. Most West Virginia lawns consists of cold-season grass species, which usually go dormant during the hot, dry weeks of summer and return to active growth in the fall. These lawns can be kept green and growing with proper watering, but in times of prolonged drought and limited water supplies the best approach is to let them remain dormant.